The Dragon Warrior
by madman-with-an-impala
Summary: Ivy has spent the last seven years of her life in hell. She has been captured, tortured, and trained to kill, but what happens when she is all of a sudden thrust back into her old life in Starling City.
1. Chapter 1:Prologue

"Okay," said Abu slowing his horse to a stop. "This is where we split up. Dahi, you lead Group Alpha around to the southeast side of the fortress. Wait for my signal. I'll be taking Group Beta to the southwest side. Nuri," he said turning towards me. "You know what to do." Abu paused for a second, giving me a knowing glance. If I messed up, the entire mission failed. "Maintain radio silence except for emergencies. Good luck." He gave me one last look then motioned for Group Beta to follow him. Dahi did the same with Group Alpha. I hesitated, suddenly getting a bad feeling about what I was about to do, but I ignored it and nudged my horse onward.

After a few short minutes of riding I reached the hidden tunnel which was my entrance into the fortress. Apparently the tunnel was used as an emergency exit to get prisoners out if the fortress was ever attacked. This of course meant I would have to get out a different way.

I waited near the entrance of the tunnel for about five minutes before hearing small explosions. Group Alpha had set explosive devices on the upper levels of the fortress with the goal to cause enough of a diversion for me to complete my task. I started my crawl through the tunnel and was soon inside the giant fortress.

Once inside I found a single man guarding the tunnel. He must not have heard the explosions because he looked very surprised to see me crawl through the tunnel. I managed to take him out with one of my throwing knives before he had time to react.

I continued on my way towards the dungeons without encountering any other people. Unfortunately once I reached the dungeons there were several people waiting near one of the cells. I pulled out the two identical curved swords I had strapped to my back and attacked.

It didn't take me long to dispose of the three men and two women who had been waiting near the cell. I grabbed the keys from one man's belt and unlocked the door.

"Kamaria?" I called into the cell, looking for my friend.

"Nuri?" a quiet voice asked from the corner of the cell. I ran towards the voice. "Oh my god, Nuri," she cried as I embraced her in a hug. "I thought I would never see you again."

"Shhhhh baby, I know," I said as I stroked her shoulder length, strawberry blonde hair. After a few minutes of us sitting like this, I realized that we had to get moving. "We have to go. Can you walk."

"Yeah," she said carefully standing up. "But there's a girl, two cells down. Her name's Rifna. We have to help her!" I nodded and went to go find the girl.

"Rifna," I called quietly as I unlocked her cell. I saw a little girl who couldn't have been older than ten, curled up into a ball in a corner of cell.

"Please don't hurt me," she whispered so quietly I could barely hear her.

"Don't worry," I said gently. "I'm a friend of Kamaria. My name's Nuri, I'm here to help." The girl nodded but didn't make any motion to get up. I looked over the girl and figured she wouldn't be able to walk, so I carefully picked her up and carried her back to where Kamaria was standing.

Now that I could actually see Kamaria, my heart broke for her. She was covered in dried blood and bruises, her clothes were in tatters, and she looked exhausted.

"Let me carry her," she said reaching her arms out. "You'll need both hands free to fight." I wanted to argue but she had a point. If we were going to get out of here alive I would need both my hands.

I embraced her in what could be our last hug. "I love you," I said as I gave her a quick but passionate kiss.

"I love you too," she said welcoming my kiss. This time it was her turn to play with my long, thick, jet-black hair.

The kiss ended too soon for my liking but I knew we had to get moving. I gently handed Rifna over to Kamaria and gave her a small dagger.

"Just in case," I said and we slowly made our way through the fortress.

We encountered lots of people on our way out but luckily there was never more than two or three at a time. Before long we were nearing the exit.

"We're almost there," I told Kamaria who was looking a bit pale. Soon we were out of the fortress and making our way across the moonlit grounds.

"Now what do we have here?" A voice asked from behind us. Shit, I though as I turned to face Ra's al Ghul. At his side was his daughter Nyssa and two other league members who I didn't recognize. I protectively stepped on front of Kamaria and Rifna.

"Run when I say go," I whispered as quietly as I could to Kamaria. "The others are just beyond the first ridge. Tell Abu to detonate at precisely 12:37."

"Nuri," she whispered in disbelief.

"Please," I begged. "Just do it."

I could tell she wasn't happy, but she also wasn't going to argue "I love you," she said as she adjusted her hold on Rifna.

"I love you too," I responded right before I charged. It was obvious that none of the league members were expecting such a straightforward attack.

"Go!" I yelled as I tried to distract all four league members enough for Kamaria to slip away. Luckily my plan worked and my lover managed to slip away without any pursuit. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was currently 12:30. That meant I had to distract four highly trained league member for seven minutes.

The first six minutes went fairly well. I glanced down at my watch for a brief second but that's when things went wrong. One of the league members I didn't recognize managed to hit my hand with her bow staff, causing me to drop one of my swords. Then Ra's landed a blow on my torso with his own sword. The blow wasn't that hard but it distracted me just enough for Nyssa and the other league member I didn't know to disarm me and knock me on the ground. I glanced at my watch; thirty seconds.

"I have to admit that you put up a good fight," said Ra's stepping forward. "You and your Dragon Warrior friends." Twenty seconds. "Not that it mattered, because I still have you," he said pushing his sword against my neck. Ten seconds. "And I feel that you'll be very helpful."

I counted down in my head and at the last possible moment I ducked away and curled into a ball. Milliseconds later I heard the sound of explosions ripping through the fortress. Even though I was near the edge of the blast zone, the force of explosion threw me forward several feet.

I tried to get up but the world was spinning and my ears were ringing. I fell down, fighting to stay conscious. All I felt was pain, spread all over my body. And that was my last thought before falling into blackness.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own the Arrow Universe (however much I want to) and am merely borrowing characters for my own amusement.

Hey people! I'm really exciting to be writing this new (multi-chapter) fic! It is set in the Arrow universe and will start in the middle of the first season, but will include characters from later seasons (as you've probably already noticed). I've written it so that it's a bit confusing but everything will start to make sense in later chapters. I'll try to update as often as I can but...we'll just have to see XD. Also please review and tell me what you think, it really means a lot and you help inspire me to continue writing. One last thing, in this chapter I gave all of my OCs Arabic name because they're in the Middle East so here's the meanings and pronunciations for the names.

Abu = father (ah-BOO)

Kamaria = moon (kah-mah-REE-yah)

Nuri = fire (NUH-R-iy)

Rifna = princess/angel (r-ee-f-n-aa)

Dahi = intelligent/swift (Duh-hee)

Thanks for suffering through this crazy long author's note, please review!


	2. Chapter 2: Together Again

As I started to drift back into consciousness, I heard the quiet mechanical humming of machines. I carefully opened my eyes and was almost blinded by the light. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust but once they did, I saw that I was in a small hospital room with light streaming in through a single window.

I carefully moved myself into an upright position, earning a jolt of pain from my back, but I ignored it. Once I was sitting up, I noted that my torso was tightly wrapped in bandages and my left knee had a brace on it.

I was lost in thought when the door open behind me. I quickly whirled around, expecting the worse, but it was only a nurse.

"Where am I?" I demanded. The woman, who must've been about forty, looked startled by my abrupt tone.

"Starling City General Hospital," she responded, getting over her initial shock. "I know what you've gone through was horrible, but Ivy," I flinched at the sound of my real name, but the nurse didn't notice and continued talking. It had been almost five years since anyone had called me Ivy. Once I had joined the Dragon Warriors I had taken the name Nuri, meaning fire.

I turned my attention back to the nurse and noticed she had stopped talking and was instead reaching towards my IV drip.

"Stop," I said in the same tone I had used earlier. I couldn't afford to take anything that would make me drowsy, not now. The nurse looked a bit awkward, not quite sure what she was supposed to do now.

"Well, your parents should be here any minute so...," she said a bit awkwardly as she left my room.

My parents. It had been seven years since I had last seen them. I missed them so much while I was gone but to keep them safe I had to stay away, no matter how hard it was.

xxxFLASHBACKxxx

"Okay," I said walking into the kitchen of our small townhouse. I was wearing a sweatshirt, jeans and combat boots. My long, curly, light brown hair was pulled into a ponytail that rested on the top of my head.

"Oh baby," my mom said embracing me in a bone crushing hug. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"For the hundredth time, yes," I said as I returned her hug.

"I'm going to miss you," she said releasing me. "Just remember that we love you."

"I love you too."

Now it was my dad's turn.

"Do your country proud," he said, also hugging me tight.

"Yes sir," I said jokingly.

"Be safe," he said, "I love you."

"I love you too," I said as he released me from his hug.

"Elizabeth!" My mom called. "Come say goodbye to your sister."

My fourteen year old sister ran into the room with tears in her emerald green eyes.

"Please don't go," she cried.

"I have to," I said, gently pulling her into a hug. "But I'll only be gone for fifteen months. You won't even notice I'm gone."

"What if you don't come back," she sobbed.

"I promise that I'll come back, no matter what." That seemed to calm my sister down a little bit.

"I love you," she sniffled.

"I love you too," I said giving her one last squeeze.

I stood up and took one last look at my family. Both of my parents had silent tears streaming down their faces and my sister was sobbing loudly.

"I'll be back," I said smiling confidently.

xxxEND FLASHBACKxxx

Several minutes later the door opened and a doctor walked in. Behind him were two people I thought I would never see again.

"Mom, dad," I whispered.

For a second they stood frozen in place. As though they couldn't believe that I was the daughter they lost seven years ago, but that second passed quickly and soon they were both running to me.

"My baby," my mom cried as we embraced in a three way hug. We've missed you so much."

"They told us you were dead," my dad whispered, stroking my head.

It went on like this for a few minutes, my parents hugging and crying and saying how much they missed me. I stayed silent but was crying all the same. It seemed like an eternity, but eventually my parents composed themselves and let go. Giving them their first good look at me.

Upon examination, both of my parents looked shocked and my mom started crying again.

My deeply tanned skin accented my well defined muscles. I had dyed my hair jet black with midnight blue streaks and recently started wearing it emo-style. Although it had currently resorted back to its curly nature and was a big mess. But the thing that shocked my parents the most were the scars that covered my body. I had too many scars to count from various incidents along with several tattoos, but luckily a majority of the scars and all the tattoos were being covered by my bandages.

"What did they do to you?" My mom whispered, obviously horrified. I wasn't really sure how to respond, so I just stayed silent.

"Well," the doctor said, deciding it was time to intervene. "It seems that Ivy here isn't suffering from any major injuries, so if everything goes well tonight, she'll be able to go home with you tomorrow."

"Thank you," my dad said as he lead my mom to a chair beside my bed. The doctor just nodded and left.

"Ivy, I know you've been through a lot," my dad said gently. "But we won't force you to talk about anything until you feel comfortable." I nodded, grateful for my dad's understanding. There was a bit of a pause, but I eventually filled the silence.

"How's Elizabeth?"

"She's doing good," my mom replied, having calmed down a bit. "She's at her afternoon classes now, but she said her boyfriend was going to bring her here afterwards."

"Boyfriend?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, his name's Jacob. He's such a nice boy, they've been dating for about 4 months now." I smiled a bit, it was good that my sister found someone she likes.

"Is she at college?"

"No, she's just taking some classes at the community center."

The conversation continued on like this for about an hour until I heard the door open.

"Oh my god, Ivy!" I turned just in time for my baby sister to tackle me in a hug. Except she wasn't a baby anymore. If my calculations were right she was almost twenty one. "They told us you were dead," she sobbed into my shoulder. Suddenly she pulled away.

"You told us you would be gone for fifteen months!" She said angrily.

"Elizabeth!" My mom said sharply but my sister continued her rant.

"You were gone for seven years! Seven years! Was there not anyway you could have contacted us!" My sister broke down sobbing in my arms again. "I missed you so much."

"I know, I missed you too," I said stroking her dirty blond hair.

Eventually she pulled away and took a seat next to my bed. It was then that I saw a tall, brown haired guy standing awkwardly by the door.

"Ivy, this is Jacob, my-"

"Boyfriend," I said finishing her sentence. "Mom told me. It's nice to meet you," I said giving him a smile.

The relief shone in his eyes. I could tell he was glad that I wasn't going to be one of those overprotective siblings.

"Likewise," he said coming over to stand near my sister. "I'm glad that you aren't dead." I gave him a small smile.

Jacob left about an hour later, but my family stayed until visiting hours were over. One of the doctors came in a while after my family left to give me some meds and my dinner, but both laid uneaten on the side table.

Throughout the night I would flinch at the slightest noise, expecting an elite warrior to burst into my room and take me back, but eventually I fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own the Arrow Universe or its characters. I'm simply borrowing them for my own amusement.

A/N: I don't have a beta so any mistakes you see are my own. The response to my first chapter was a bit disappointing, so lets try this again. Every time you read but don't review, Malcolm Merlyn will kick a puppy. So save the puppies by reviewing! XP


	3. Chapter 3: Home at Last

The next morning I awoke to the faint sound of voices outside my room. I tensed, trying to identify the voices. I relaxed once I realized it was my parents and a doctor, but I stayed still, trying to hear what they were saying.

"...making good progress...long way to go. ..permanently scarred...emotional trauma...therapy...group sessions..." I groaned internally. I had always been an independent person who never liked admitting weakness. This meant that I never really talked about my feelings with anyone. Therapy was going to be hell.

I turned back to the conversation but they were talking too quietly to understand. I heard to doorknob turning and pretended to just be waking up.

"Hello Ivy," a doctor said walking into my room followed by my parents. "How're you feeling today?"

"I'm fine," I responded honestly. I was a bit sore but that wasn't surprising.

"That's good," the doctor said smiling. "Later this morning someone will be in to give you a quick check up and if everything looks good, you can go home this afternoon."

"Isn't that great!" My mom said happily as I gave a small smile.

My parents and I talked for a while before a nurse brought me my breakfast and some more meds. She told us that a doctor would be coming in shortly to give me my check up.

About half an hour after the nurse left a plump woman who looked to be in her late fifties entered my room.

"Hello Ivy, I'm Dr. Bernard. I'm here to give you your check up," she said, smiling encouragingly at me. "Are you ready?" I nodded. "Okay, let's start with the burns on your back."

I turned away and lifted my arms so she could unwrap my bandages. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Dr. Bernard grimace and heard my parents gasp.

"Those are some nasty burns," she said examining them closer. "They'll probably leave permanent scars on your back." Once again my parents let out small gasps but I just shrugged. It had gotten to the point were I really just didn't care.

"They seem to be healing nicely though. I'll just put some antibiotic ointment on them and then I can rewrap them. It might sting a little," she said as she started rubbing the cream into my back. Although contrary to what she thought, it actually felt quite nice.

Next Dr. Bernard looked at my knee. "Unfortunately, the x-rays we took show that your knee never had a chance to heal properly. This means that you'll probably walk with a limp for the rest of your life." Again I just shrugged. I had been walking with a slight limp since I joined the Dragon Warriors. I even learned to fight with a limp and it never bothered me a bit. My parents on the other hand didn't seem too happy.

"What do you mean she'll walk with a limp!" My mom cried indignantly. "You're a doctor, you're supposed to heal her!"

"The doctors here have done all that they can, but the injury is several years old. The damage is done." Dr. Bernard sad icily. My mom huffed but didn't say anything else.

Dr. Bernard continued her check up, moving on to more basic things so I just zoned out. I was excited to leave the hospital because I was starting to get restless.

"Okay," Dr. Bernard said and my attention snapped back to her. "Everything seems fine so I can go get your release papers. Just take it easy for a while."

"Thank you," I said and she nodded and left my room.

Less than thirty minutes after Dr. Bernard left my room, I was being wheeled to the hospital parking lot where my parents' car was waiting. I wasn't happy about having to be wheeled out when I was perfectly capable of walking but I didn't feeling like arguing.

The car ride back to the house was mostly silent but it was fairly short. Not even fifteen minutes later my dad was pulling into the driveway of my childhood home. I got out of the car, ignoring my mom's offer to help, and walked up the front steps, smiling. I was finally home.

My dad walked up behind me and kissed me gently on the forehead before opening the door. As soon as my dad opened the door, two excited little corgis raced out and started jumping on me. I stumbled backwards a bit, being taken by surprise.

"Ivy, meet Salt and Pepper," my mom said. "We adopted them a few years ago."

"Hi," I said crouching down to pet them. Both dogs immediately started trying to lick my face and I laughed.

I followed my parents inside and we went to my room.

"It's exactly the same as you left it," my mom said. I gave a small smile and started slowly walking around.

The walls were covered in various posters and photos covered most surfaces. I stopped to look at a photo of my family. It was taken on my thirteenth birthday. I had just blown out the candles and the rest of my family was clapping. We all looked so happy.

"We'll leave you alone for a little bit." I nodded, feeling my eyes get a bit wet. I heard the door shut and I swallowed hard. I would not cry.

I washed my face and changed into more comfortable clothes before I decided it was time to face my parents.

I found them in the living room watching TV. I grabbed a blanket and curled up on the end of the couch next to my mom.

We sat in comfortable silent for about an hour until the door bell rang. I tensed slightly but relaxed a moment later when my dad came back with the man who was in charge of my squadron when I was stationed in Afghanistan; Colonel Russo.

"Lieutenant White," he said, his face expressionless. Normally I would stand up and salute him but today I just couldn't be bothered. It wasn't that I didn't like Colonel Russo or he was ever mean to me. It was quite the opposite. He would always push me to do my best.

"Sir," I said curtly as I looked him over. He hadn't changed much since I last saw him. He was still big and burly and had a buzz cut.

"I'm glad to hear that you're still alive," he said a bit awkwardly. I didn't respond, waiting for him to get to the point. "The military has an ongoing investigation regarding the group that captured you. And we believe your...experiences, will be invaluable."

"I really don't think-"

"Sure," I said cutting my dad off. "What do you want to know?" I figured it couldn't hurt to tell him some of my earlier memories.

"Everything," he replied. So I started from the beginning.

XXXFLASHBACKXXX

"Ivy! Ivy wake up!" I heard Daniel, a fellow sharpshooter, say as he shook me awake.

"What?" I asked angrily, pulling the covers over my head.

"A bunch of armed people are approaching the facility. Russo wants us to get on the roof ASAP."

"Shit," I mumbled as I raced to get dressed.

"Why would anyone even want to attack this place?" Daniel said half to himself as we raced up to the roof.

"Hell if I know," I responded. "We don't even know what they do here."

"True," he said as we reached the roof. We set up our sharpshooter rifles on the north and south sides of the building and waited for the approaching army to get within range.

It wasn't long before I could see the army in the distance. They wore army fatigues but I didn't recognize any of the insignias.

"Who are these people?" I asked.

"Dunno," replied Daniel, "but they're just about within range." I nodded and turned back towards the approaching army. There were about thirty men in all. Not too many but more than I would've like as we only had twenty men stationed at this facility.

Before long our own forces came out to meet the attackers and Daniel and I were doing our best to take out as many attackers as possible.

"Ivy watch out!" I whipped around to see three attackers on the roof. I had been too focused on what I was doing to notice them behind me. The guy in the middle yelled something in another language and the two other guys advanced on me and Daniel.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Daniel make a break for it, but I heard a gunshot and he fell to the ground.

"No!" I cried, backing away from the three men. I looked around frantically, but I was trapped. The only chance I had was to jump off the two-story high roof and hope I was still able to run after the fall.

I turned and sprinted off the edge of the building. I heard a gunshot and felt a bullet graze my shoulder. As I fell I tried to land on my feet, but once I landed I knew it was a mistake. My legs buckled under me, pain racing through me.

I struggled to my feet, desperately trying to get away from the approaching footsteps. I felt something hard connect with the back of my head and I collapsed again.

"Dumb bitch," I heard someone mutter as I fell into blackness.

XXXEND FLASHBACKXXX

"That's enough for now," my mom said as I paused my story to yawn.

"Of course," Colonel Russo replied. "We can finish out talk some other time. Have a good day and feel better."

"Thanks," I said giving him a small smile, but he just nodded and left.

"So," my dad was the first to speak after Colonel Russo left. "Elizabeth's classes should've just let out. How about we ask her to bring home pizza?"

"Sounds good," I said, once again grateful that my parents weren't going to make me talk about what happened. I was glad to be home.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own the Arrow Universe, I'm just borrowing it for my own amusement.

A/N: I'm so sorry I took forever to update, for some reason this chapter was really hard to write. The next chapter should come a lot faster because I already have it mostly planned out (you finally get to meet a certain someone ;) ). Any mistakes that you see are my own and I would really appreciate it if you would point them out, because I don't have a beta.


	4. Chapter 4: Meeting the Queens

_I find myself in the living room, frozen in place. My family is sitting on the couch watching TV. I try to say something but I can't; I'm invisible._

 _Suddenly a dozen people storm into the room. I recognize them immediately, they're members of the League of Assassins. I cry out and try to rush forward, but it's useless._

 _"Where is she!" One of the warriors yelled, pointing the tip of his sword at my family who is now huddled together on the floor. "Where is Nuri!"_

 _"We don't know who that is!" My dad cried. He's trying to be brave, but I can tell he's just as scared as the rest of my family. I struggle some more but I'm still frozen. All I can do is watch._

 _"Well maybe you know her by a different name," a second person said coming up behind the first one. She has an arrow notched in her bow and a sickening smile on her face. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Tell us where Ivy is."_

 _You're insane," my mom whispered half to herself. "Ivy would never be involved in anything like this."_

 _"Looks like you don't know your daughter as well as you thought you did," the first warrior said smirking. "Now for the last time, tell us where Ivy is!"_

 _"No," my dad said but the word was barely out of his mouth before the second warrior released her arrow and it plunged into my sister's chest._

 _"NO!"_

I bolted upright, covered in sweat and breathing heavy.

"Ivy, breakfast is ready!" My mom called.

"I'll be down in a minute!" I replied a bit shakily.

"Honey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied as I got out of bed and slowly made my way to the kitchen. I knew that it was just a dream, but I also knew that it was a possible reality if I wasn't careful.

"Sweetie, you don't look too good," my dad said upon me entering the kitchen.

"I didn't get much sleep last night, that's all," I said as I sat down at the table and my mom heaped eggs on my plate.

"Did you have any nightmares?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah," I replied grabbing some toast. "How did you know?"

"I heard you mumbling in your sleep last night."

"Do you want to talk about it?" My mom asked worriedly.

"Not really."

"Well I think I've got something to perk you up," my dad said, barely concealing his smile. "My boss invited us over for dinner tonight." Both my mom and my sister started to get excited, but I didn't see what was so great about it.

"You mean the old lady that-"

"No, Ivy, Moira Queen." There was a moment of silence while I let that sink in.

"Let me get this straight, Moira Queen, the billionaire philanthropist, invited us to dinner. Why would she do that?" I asked still confused.

"A similar thing happened to Moira's family," my dad said taking on a somber tone. "Her husband Robert and their son Oliver were on a boat when it went down. Both Robert and Oliver were thought to have died, but Oliver somehow survived on a deserted island for five years before being rescued. She thought it would be nice for both of you to meet someone who went through similar experiences." When I didn't reply my mom cut in.

"Come on," she said giving my shoulders a squeeze. "It'll be fun." When I still didn't respond my dad came in and started tickling me. I squirmed in my seat, trying to not give him the satisfaction of knowing that tickling me still worked, but eventually I couldn't take it.

"Fine," I said laughing. "I'll go."

Most of the morning was spent playing Mariokart with my sister while she explained all the new trends. I tried my best to pay attention to what she was saying but after a while I just needed some time to myself.

"I'm kind of tired, I'm gonna go take a nap," I announced after we finished eating lunch.

"Alright, but make sure you're up by four, dinner starts at six." I nodded and went my room. But instead of crawling into bed, I changed clothes and quietly slipped out the window.

As soon as my feet hit the ground I started running. It didn't matter where; I just needed to run. It was a way for me to temporarily forget everything that was going on in my life and right now I really needed that.

I didn't know how far or how long I had ran, but eventually I slowed down to catch my breath. I realized that I was in the outskirts of Starling City. A quick time check showed me that it was already past three. Even at my top speed I wouldn't be able to make it home before four. I decided to take a cab and have it drop me off a few blocks from my house.

Roughly half an hour later I was back in my room. I still had a bit of time before my mom expected me to be awake, but I decided to take my shower anyways.

It felt amazing to let the hot water rush over my sweat soaked body. The burns on my back gave a slight cry of protest as I started to lather my body in soap, but the pain was a welcome and familiar feeling. It helped keep me anchored to reality instead of drifting through my own thoughts. That was never a good thing for me to do.

Before long the water had turned cold and I was forced to get out. After I carefully dried myself off, I went back to my room to get dressed. I chose to wear a white tunic with a rainbow dreamcatcher, black legging, black boots, and my leather jacket. Then I started to work on putting my hair in its normal emo-style. I was just finishing up when my dad shouted from upstairs.

"Ivy, we're leaving in ten."

"Ok," I yelled back so he could hear me. Less than five minutes later I found my dad and my sister waiting by the door. I could tell by their expressions that they were a bit surprised about my hairstyle, but thankfully they didn't say anything. A minute or so later my mom came down and we left for the Queen's mansion.

The car ride was fairly quiet. My mom and dad had some sort of a conversation going, but they were talking too quietly for me to hear. My sister was introducing me to a bunch of popular songs she really liked, but we never really had the same taste in music.

A little over twenty minutes later my dad was pulling into the Queen's driveway. The house alone was probably three times the size of our own house. The yard was even bigger with a couple acres of luscious green grass and a few scattered trees.

"Woah," my sister breathed as I got out of the car.

"Yeah," I responded. The whole property had an air of sophistication yet it also seemed very serene.

"Welcome," I hear a voice say from behind me.

"Moira," my mom said. "It's wonderful to see you again.

"Yes, it's been some time," Moira replied shaking my mom and my dad's hands.

"I'm sure you remember our younger daughter Elizabeth," my dad said.

"Of course," she answered, also shaking my sister's hand.

"And this," my dad said turning to me. "Is our oldest daughter Ivy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Moira smiled, shaking my hand as well. Although the smile was obviously forced. I could see the disapproval in her eyes immediately.

"Likewise," I responded, also forcing a smile.

As we made our way to the dinning room, Moira somehow managed to keep a conversation going.

"I'm sorry that my husband couldn't be here. He has some work to attend to in New York."

"Don't worry about it," my dad said. "I'm sure he could be here if he could."

When we entered the huge dining room, a girl a bit younger than Elizabeth came over to us. I assumed she was Moira's daughter.

"Thea, this is Eugene and Mary and their daughters Elizabeth and Ivy."

"Nice to meet you," Thea said but she seemed distracted. Moira must've noticed as well.

"Is everything alright?" The concern was evident in her voice.

"Ollie's not back yet." The poor girl was clearly upset.

"I'm sure he'll be home shortly. He probably just had to finish something at the club."

"Club?" I asked, curious.

"Yes," Moira replied, once again her disapproval was evident. "Oliver and his friend decided to start a club together."

"He's not interested in working at Queen Consolidated?" My dad asked.

"Sadly not, he never showed an interest. He's always been much too...free-spirited. I guess we might as well start."

The first two courses were amazing. The Caesar salad had fresh vegetables with a creamy dressing. While the pasta was perfectly cooked in a light tomato sauce. We were just about to start our third course when I heard footsteps and a deep voice.

"Sorry I'm late, I got held up at the club." I looked up and my fork froze halfway to my mouth. It had been almost three years since I had last seen that face.

"Oliver," Moira said gently, although the glare in her eyes told me that she wasn't happy. Oliver at least tried to looked apologetic, but his eyes were stuck on me. "You remember Eugene don't you? This is his wife Mary and their daughters, Elizabeth and Ivy."

"Nice to meet you all," he said shaking all of our hands. He held onto my hand slightly longer than necessary and gave me a questioning look. I gave a slight shrug and let go of his hand.

"Ivy went through an experience that was similar to what happened to you," Moira said.

"Did you now," Oliver responded with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Well, if you count being held captive and tortured for almost six years as being similar to being stranded on a deserted island, then yes," I said, glaring at Oliver to warn him that he better keep his mouth shut. After that there was an awkward moment of silence before a servant brought in the next course.

"Just in time," I heard Thea mutter under her breath and I couldn't agree more. We all sat down and Oliver chose to sit next to his sister and directly across from me. While we started to eat our steaks, I took the time to study him. He hadn't changed much since I last saw him. He had cut his hair and he was clean-shaven, but that was pretty much it. Although I did sense something else slightly different about him. He seemed more guarded and constantly tense, as if he was expecting an attack at any moment. I would have continued to study Oliver, but my dad interrupted my thoughts.

"Have you heard any recent news about the vigilant?"

"What vigilante?" I asked.

"He's known as the Starling City vigilante. He fights crime with a bow and arrows and he wears a green hood," Thea said.

"Oh," I responded glancing at Oliver with an slight smirk. This time it was his turn to glare at me. If it was possible he looked even more tense than he had before which just confirmed my thoughts.

XXXFLASHBACKXXX

When I came to, the first thing I noticed was the pain. A white-hot agony spread throughout my body, but centralized on my left knee.

"Fuck," I muttered as I tried to sit up but each motion was greeted with a new wave of pain.

"Careful," I heard a voice whisper from behind me. "Or you're gonna injure it even more."

"Where the hell am I?" I demanded although it probably didn't sound half as threatening as I wanted it to.

"You're welcome," The man said, ignoring my question. "The name's Saul, by the way."

"Tell me where I am!" I demanded again.

"Easy there tiger. You're in a truck."

"No shit Sherlock," I said sarcastically. "Where's it going?"

"Hell if I know. Probably to another one of their houses," Saul replied.

"Whose houses?"

"I haven't quite figured that out yet. Although I believe our captors are a group of powerful warlords." I sat their silently, trying to let that sink in.

"Why would they want us," I asked quietly. I didn't possess any special knowledge or skills that would be useful to these people."

"Dunno, but if you want to have a chance to get out of this alive, you'll tell them anything and everything they want to know." Saul had lost his snarky tone and was now deadly serious.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Tears had formed in my eyes and were threatening to spill over. I had been in tight situations before, but this was different. I knew these people, whoever they are, are willing to do whatever's necessary to get what they want. They had killed Daniel when he tried to escape and they almost killed me as well.

"We're slowing down," Saul said. "Let me knock you out."

"What?" I asked, caught off guard.

"Let me knock you out. Trust me, it'll make this a helluva lot easier," he said frantically. I felt the truck slow to a stop.

"Are you sure-" but he didn't wait for my answer. I felt his fist connect with my temple just as I heard the doors open. I blacked out.

XXXEND FLASHBACKXXX

Finally, over two hours since we had first arrived, it was time to go home. The dinner wasn't as horrible as I thought it was going to be, but it was just as boring. My parents and Moira had spent most of the time talking about politics. Occasionally one of them would ask either me or Oliver a question, but it was never anything too personal.

"It was a pleasure to meet you," Oliver said shaking my hand. He looked around, and then leaned in a bit closer. "Meet me at Big Belly Burger, tomorrow at noon," he whispered. I nodded to tell him that I would be there.

"It was a pleasure to meet you too."

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own the Arrow Universe, I'm just borrowing it for my own amusement.

A/N: I'm sorry. I know it took me two months to update, but there's this thing called life and it has a really annoying habit of getting in the way of my free-time. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter and please review to tell me what you thought!


	5. Chapter 5: Just Like Old Times

"Hey," my mom said as I entered the kitchen the next morning. "How're you doing?"

"I'm fine," I replied as I grabbed a bowl for my cereal. "Why?"

"Well," my mom said, getting a hopeful grin on her face. "I was thinking maybe the two of us could spend the day together, walking around Starling City. Just like old times. Would you want to do that?"

"Sure," I responded with a smile. It would be nice to spend some time with my mom. Not to mention that it would give me an opportunity to meet up with Oliver. "It'll be fun."

Less than two hours later the cab had dropped us off and we were beginning our walk through the city. Although I hadn't noticed it when I was in the outskirts yesterday, the city seemed to have gotten a lot bigger. There were some new buildings and it looked like a few skyscrapers had gotten a couple levels added. We walked in silence for a few minutes, admiring the city.

"Where do you want to go first?" my mom asked, breaking the silence. I thought about it, trying to think of all the places I used to go but none of them sparked an interest.

"Wherever you want to go," I finally decided. My mom thought for a moment before directing me down a side street. We walked a few more blocks in companionable silence before we stopped in front of a small and shabby one-story building that looked squashed between the buildings next to it.

"Mr. Gold's Pawn and Antique shop," I said reading the shop's sign aloud.

"I found it a year or two ago," my mom said. "I know you're not a big fan of antiques but there're some really interesting things in there."

"It looks great," I replied as I walked into the store. Inside, the store was much brighter than it appeared from the outside. Everywhere I looked there were piles unique objects-from furniture to old books. The first thing that caught my eye were several intricate glass ornaments hanging by a window that sparkled when the light hit them just right. I continued browsing through the store for a few minutes before coming across the weapons section. They had everything from big hunting rifles to little daggers, each polished until it was gleaming. I had to resist the urge to pick up one of the swords. I shot a quick glance at my mom, but she was deep in conversation with the lady behind the counter. I moved on to continue looking around the store but not before making a mental note that this would be a good place to get weapons if the need ever arose.

After about ten more minutes my mom and I decided to move on. The next store we went to was a couple blocks from the pawn and antique shop. It was a little tea shop owned by one of my mom's friends. I wasn't particularly thrilled about going there but it made my mom happy so I went along with it.

As soon as we entered the little shop both my mom and I were greeted with hugs and kisses on the cheek from an older lady, who I assumed was my mom's friend. The shop itself was very girlish with lots of pinks and purples and frills and flowers everywhere. I instantly hated it.

We spent about half an hour in the shop talking with Angeline, the woman who had greeted us, and snacking on little bite sized deserts. The conversation was focused around me and I had to talk more than I would've preferred which made me tense and uncomfortable.

Angeline was a nice woman but she was a bit too curious. She asked questions about things I hadn't even told my parents. I did my best to be vague and tried to hint that I didn't want to talk about those things but Angeline didn't seem notice. Luckily my mom eventually noticed my discomfort and came up with an excuse to leave.

"You okay?" my mom asked once we were walking through the city again.

"Yeah," I responded although that wasn't completely true. The talk with Angeline had freaked me out more than I would like to admit. The woman had seemed innocent enough, but there was something about her that made me uncomfortable.

My mom looked like she didn't quite believe me but she didn't pry. "Where do you want to go next?"

I decided on a thrift shop that I used to love because it was already past eleven and I would have to go meet up with Oliver soon. The thrift shop would be a good place for me to make my escape because I knew the dressing rooms had windows.

We backtracked for a while before finally reaching the thrift shop. The store was just as I remembered it. Slightly dingy and disorganized, but home to a bunch of great clothes.

I went straight for the section with my size and started picking through clothes. My mom did the same but was a few racks over from me. Before long we both had a sizable pile of clothes by our feet. I checked the time and saw that it was about eleven thirty; time to make my escape.

"I'm gonna go try these on," I said as I passed my mom on the way to the dressing room.

"Ok," she replied not looking up from the bin she was looking in. "I'll be along soon."

When I got to the dressing rooms, I picked a small room and shut the door but made sure it was still accessible from the outside. I placed my pile of clothes on the chair and wrote a quick note to my mom on a scrap of paper. I wanted to try and keep her from freaking out by explaining that I just needed some time to myself after the tea shop incident but I doubted it would help much. Either way I left the note on top of the clothes pile and squeezed out the window. It was a tight fit but I managed to get through and started walking towards Big Belly Burger.

Big Belly Burger was a good distance from the thrift store but after about twenty minutes of walking I made it to the restaurant. I was a couple minutes early but decided to go in anyways. It didn't seem to matter though since Oliver was also early. He was sitting in a booth in a secluded corner of the restaurant and was talking to a muscly black man sitting across from him.

"Hey," Oliver said, his face lighting up as he spotted me.

"Hey," I replied making my way over to their booth.

"Ivy, this is John Diggle. Dig, this is Ivy White."

"You can call me Diggle," John said as he stood up to shake my hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," I said.

"Do you think you could leave us alone for a little bit," Oliver asked, looking a bit sheepish. But Diggle seemed to be expecting this request.

"Of course. I'll be over their talking to Carly," Diggle said gesturing to where a petit African American woman was wiping down a table.

"Is she your wife?" I asked.

"Sister-in-law," Diggle replied shortly, but his body language told me their relationship was much more complicated.

"So," Oliver started after Diggle had left us and I had taken the seat across from him. "Where do we start?" I gave a small shrug but didn't say anything. It had been so long since we had seen each other and the last time we saw each other neither of us had plans to return to Starling.

"Where did you go after you left?" I asked figuring it was as good a place as any to start.

"I went to Russia for a little bit to meet up with an old friend, but then I ran into Amanda Waller who recruited me for a mission which took me back to Lian Yu. But after the mission was over they left me stranded there. Eventually a fishing boat came near the island and they took me to the mainland where I caught a plane back to Starling."

"I thought you didn't want to come back."

Oliver shrugged, "it was time. What about you. I thought you couldn't come back."

"I didn't come back willingly," I said quietly.

"Then what happened?" I took a deep breath.

"About a month ago, Kamaria was captured by the league and I went on a mission to rescue her." Oliver stayed silent, not letting any of his features display his emotions. "I was to find her and get her out while everyone else created a diversion," I paused for a second. I didn't like reliving this. "We almost made it out, but four league members came at us from behind. I told Kamaria to run and tell Abu to use the backup plan. But I wasn't far enough away when the bomb detonated and I got knocked out. I assume that some U.S. forces were nearby when they heard the explosion and they came to investigate. They must've found me and identified me as a MIA and then sent me back to Starling. I woke up in Starling General a few days ago," I said finishing my story. "Both the league and the Dragon Warriors think I'm dead, it's the only reason they haven't already come after me. And it needs the stay like that," I said hardening my tone.

"Your secret's safe with me," Oliver replied understanding my hint.

"Your secret's also safe; Starling City vigilante," I said which caught Oliver a bit off guard.

"You know?" he asked in surprise.

"It was painfully obvious last night at dinner. I'm surprised no one has figured it out yet."

"Only Diggle and one other person know," he said. "No one else. You can't-

"-Tell anyone else, yeah," I replied, cutting him off. "I wasn't planning on it."

After a few moments of silence he continued. "You know, it could be helpful to have some more backup when I go out there."

"Oliver," I said, but he wouldn't let me finish.

"Promise me you'll think about it," he said. "Even if you don't go out and fight it could be helpful to have another person supporting me." I sighed but didn't say anything. To be honest, I was starting to miss the adrenaline fighting gave me. "Think about it, and if you're interested meet me by my father's old steel factory tonight."

"I'll think about it," I promised, gettingup to leave. As I left Big Belly Burger, memories of all my previous battles and fights came to mind. Joining Oliver could give me that same adrenaline rush, but at what cost? There could be dire consequences if anyone ever found out my secret. Although, against my best instinct, I knew what I needed to do.

XXXFLASHBACKXXX

"Hey! Hey kid!," I heard a voice yell through almost a veil of sorts. I groaned as I tried to fight my way back to consciousness. "Hey! Wake up!"

"What," I muttered groggily, still trying to completely wake up.

"You gotta wake up now," the voice said just before I felt a sharp tug on my arm. The pain in my leg flared and I was instantly alert.

"What!" I snapped. My gaze landed on Saul, who now had a black eye and a bloody nose but otherwise seemed unhurt. That was when I remembered what happened. All the annoyance I was feeling left me and was replaced terror.

"They're gonna take you for questioning soon," Saul said, softening his tone slightly as he sensed the shift in my emotions. Whatever that was it didn't sound good. Saul must've been able to tell what my next question was because he only hesitated a moment before continuing. "I don't know what they're gonna do to you or what they want," which didn't help. "But, I do know that the more you cooperate with them, the easier it'll be." I nodded, but didn't trust myself to speak. It was taking all of my strength to not have a total breakdown. Saul looked like he was about to say more, but he never got the chance because four men armed with machine guns barged into our cell.

The biggest of the four men, who must've been the leader, pointed in my direction and two other men came and grabbed me. The fourth had his gun aimed at Saul. The man then left the cell and motioned for the two dragging me to follow. They dragged me down several long corridors where each little bump sent pain shooting through my body. After what seemed like ages, but was probably only a few minutes, the men entered a room and threw me down.

The man who was probably the leader of them said something, but it sounded like a different language. Then they all left. No one else entered the room for hours. I was left alone with my misery. The pain, hunger, fear and worst of all; my thoughts. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't see myself getting out alive.

When someone finally did come back it was a man, but he didn't look like one of the soldiers. He was wearing black pants and a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Like he had just come from work. His face looked fairly young and had only a few wrinkles, but his dark brown hair was mixed with gray and he had a bit of a bald spot. The man had a friendly smile on his face but there was something about him that warned me not to trust him.

"I'm terribly sorry about the way my men have been treating you," the man said with a slight British accent. "They can be a bit rough, especially with our newer prisoners. Now tell me, what is your name?"

"Ivy," I replied defensively.

"Ivy," the man said slowly. "What a beautiful name. Well Ivy, my name's Jackson and I don't want to hurt you. I simply want to know more about the facility you were stationed at."

"But I don't know anything," I said truthfully. I instantly regretted it when I saw the smile leave his face.

"What do you mean you don't know anything," he said with forced gentleness. "You were stationed there for almost a year. You have to know something." I wondered how he knew how long I had been stationed there, but I was too scared to ask.

"I told you, I don't know," I repeated, but less confidently this time. Jackson was getting scarier by the second, but I didn't know what else to say. Something inside him must've snapped because all of a sudden he lunged at me and grabbed my neck. I tried his push him off, but he was stronger than me.

"Now listen here you little bitch," Jackson whispered close to my ear. His hands tightened around my neck. "You tell me what I want to know and we'll be great friends. But if you don't," he paused and gave a small laugh. "Well, let's just say that it won't end well for you. Now for the last time, tell me what you know about that facility," he growled as he released my neck.

"I swear I don't know anything," I choked out as I tried to catch my breath.

Jackson just shrugged and said, "your choice," as he readjusted his position over me so my arms were now trapped under his knees.

He pulled out a shiny silver dagger and twirled it in his fingers. Then without warning he plunged it into my side. I screamed as the icy cold metal pierced my flesh. My body felt like it was on fire and I barely registered that Jackson was talking.

"-what you know and we can end this." I tried to respond but all that came out was a sob. I heard him mutter something but I couldn't make out what he said. Although I didn't have time to dwell on that because Jackson turned his attention back to the dagger still lodged in my side. This time he started to twist and move the dagger. I screamed in agony and tried to push him off me but he was too strong. My vision started to go blurry and I was barely conscious when I heard another man enter the room and tell Jackson something.

"You got lucky this time," Jackson whispered in my ear before pulling the dagger out of my side and getting up to leave.

Free from his grip, I dragged myself to the corner farthest from the door and curled into a ball. I tried to use the remains of my tattered clothes to slow the bleeding. But before long, I fell into an uneasy sleep.

XXXEND FLASHBACKXXX

I walked around Starling for a while before deciding it was time to go home. I knew that my family would be angry at me for running off like that but I also knew that it wouldn't really matter as long as I was safe.

"Mom? Dad?" I called as I walked into the living room.

"Ivy? Oh my god!" my mom yelled as she embraced me in a fierce hug. She then held me at arm's length and practically screamed at me. "Don't you ever do that again! You scared your father and I half to death!" I saw that her eyes were red from crying and I felt a bit guilty, but my dad didn't seem too concerned.

"See? I told you she would be okay," my dad said placing a comforting arm around both of us. "Ivy you need to find a better way to deal with your emotions." I tensed slightly getting a bad feeling about where this was going. "We know you've been through a lot, but you can't just run away like that. While you were...gone...we talked to your doctors." I kept my face expressionless. "They think, that since you aren't opening up to us, it would be best for you to talk to someone. Someone who could help you deal with your emotions."

"You mean a therapist?" I said, still trying to appear calm, even though a bit of skepticism appeared in my voice.

"Well...yes," my mom said carefully as she tried to judge how I felt about this. "But we don't want to think of it as a therapist. We want to think of it as someone who you can talk to about what happened; a friend."

"We found someone who has some experience with helping prisoners of war once they return home, so we set up an appointment for you to meet with her tomorrow morning," my dad said a bit uncertainly. Both of my parents were having a hard time reading my reaction to this information.

"I'm not going," I said simply.

"Yes, you are," my mom replied, hardening her voice.

"You can't make me," I said getting defensive and crossing my arms. My dad, sensing the direction we were headed in, interrupted us.

"How about we make a compromise?" my dad suggested. "Ivy, you go to the appointment tomorrow, but if you don't like her, we can try and find someone else." I though about it for a minute. This was my best option since it was obvious I wasn't going to get out of therapy entirely.

"Fine," I grumbled. "I'll go."

* * *

A/N: I know it's been forever since I've updated but now I'm on winter break! So hopefully I'll have the next chapter mostly written or completely finished before I go back to school in the beginning of January. Thank you to everyone who's favorited, followed, or reviewed this story! It really means a lot! And as always, I don't own the flarrow universe. Also, did anyone get the ouat reference?


	6. Chapter 6: Finding my place

"Oliver?" I called as I walked around outside of his father's old steel factory. He hadn't really given me a specific time to meet him, but I figured nine was a good time. "Oliver?" I called again, shoving my hands deeper into the pockets of my leather jacket to keep them warm. The wind making it feel a lot colder than it actually was. I was just about to give up and go home when I heard footsteps behind me. I whipped around, expecting to see Oliver, but who I found wasn't Oliver.

"Who are you?" I asked aggressively.

"Who am I?" The man asked giving a short laugh, seemingly unaffected by my tone. He was fairly tall with dark brown hair and a bit of stubble. "I should be asking you that question. Tommy Merlyn," he said extending his hand.

"Ivy White," I replied a bit warily, shaking his hand. Tommy seemed pretty good-natured, but I still didn't know what he was doing here.

"So what brings you to my club tonight," Tommy said gesturing to the building behind him.

"You own Verdant?" I asked in surprise.

"Co-owner if you want to get specific," he replied. "But I've done most of the work to get it up and running. My partner mainly pays for everything." Finally I made the connection.

"You're friends with Oliver Queen." I said.

"Well, yeah," he said as if it were obvious. Tommy must be one of Oliver's friends from before the shipwreck. I also figured that he didn't know Oliver's secret. "But uh, you still haven't answered my question," he said, his tone losing some of its humor.

"I'm actually here to meet with Oliver," I said relaxing a bit now that I knew Tommy wasn't a threat. I saw his eyebrows raise in surprise but he never got the chance to response.

'Ivy! Hey!" I turned around to see Oliver jogging towards us. I gave a sigh of relief, Oliver had saved things from getting awkward. "I see you've met Ivy," Oliver said as he reached us.

"Yeah," Tommy said in slight confusion. "How exactly do you two know each other?"

"We're old friends," Oliver replied vaguely. He elaborated a bit when Tommy gave him a questioning look. "It's a long story." Tommy thought for a moment before smirking and glancing at Oliver. I rolled my eyes and glared at both of them; typical men.

"So what're doing here tonight Oliver?" Tommy asked.

"I was going to give Ivy a tour of the club."

"At night?"

"I'm busy during the day," I responded, hoping Tommy would leave us alone. Luckily he just nodded.

"Okay you two," he said walking away. "Have fun and don't break anything." I glared at him and was about to object, but he had already started to walk away.

"Come on," Oliver said directing me to a side entrance. We made our way inside and then down some steps to the building's basement. The setup he had down there was decent. He had a good sized arsenal and a training area towards one side and several computer monitors and other high-tech machines on another side. The room was fairly dark but it suited the place.

When we reached the bottom of the steps, I saw Diggle and a petite blond woman hunched over a computer screen, with their backs towards us. Oliver cleared his throat and both people turned around to face us. They were both surprised to say the least and Diggle looked like his was about to say something but Oliver ignored him.

"Guys, this is Ivy White. Ivy, this is Felicity Smoak and you already know Diggle. Ivy's going to be working with us." I wasn't really sure what I should do so I just stood there and waited for Diggle or Felicity to react. After a moment of shocked silence, Diggle spoke.

"Oliver," he said seriously. "Are you sure-?"

"She's an old friend," Oliver said cutting him off. "She can be trusted." Once again there was a moment of silence but this time it was Felicity who broke it.

"Welcome to the team," she said gesturing to the basement around us. "I'm Felicity, like Oliver just said, duh. I'm sort of the tech expert of the team and can I just say that it'll be great to have another girl around here," she said looking a bit relieved. A small smile appeared on my lips. Felicity seemed nice, if not a bit geeky and awkward.

"So," Diggle said. "Do you have any fighting experience?"

"You could say that," I responded not quite ready to open up to them.

"What do you like to fight with? A gun? Bow and arrows?"

"I prefer swords but I can use just about anything," I said.

"Swords?" Felicity said doing a double take. "What is it with you people and using medieval weapons? Why don't you just use a gun like most people in Starling? Where do you even learn to use a sword?" She asked, direcing her final question specifically at me.

"Nowhere important," I said, but I felt the tension between Diggle and I rising.

"Oliver?" Diggle asked. "Can I have a word with you? In private?" Oliver nodded and they went upstairs together. I knew they were going to talk about me. It was obvious that Diggle didn't trust me and I didn't blame him. If I was in his position I wouldn't trust me either.

"Don't worry about John," Felicity said breaking me out of my thoughts. "He's a bit cautious when it comes to people discovering Oliver's secret."

"How did you find out about all this," I asked as I sat on the edge of a table. I started fiddling with a dagger that was left on the table.

"He came to me for tech help with some things, but at the time I didn't know they were related to his nightly activities. Then one day he showed up, shot and dressed in green leather, in the back of my car." I looked up in surprise. That was definitely one way to let someone know you're the vigilante.

"Wow," I said but didn't say anything else as Oliver and Diggle reappeared. It was obvious that Diggle still wasn't thrilled with me joining the team, but he seemed to have accepted it.

"Welcome to the team," he said extending his hand in a peace offering. I returned the gesture and gave him a brief nod; we had accepted each other. "So," he said a bit uncertain about what to do next. "Do you want to spar?" He asked motioning towards some mats lying in one corner.

"Sure," I replied taking off my jacket to reveal a black tank top that was artfully shredded in the back.

"What happened there?," Felicity asked referencing the now visible bandages that still surrounded my back.

"Got too close to a bomb when it detonated," I said shortly. Felicity looked like she wanted to ask another question, but my tone warned her not to.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Oliver asked as we squared up to each other. I turned towards him, about to object, but he wasn't looking at me.

"I think I can handle myself," he said a bit coldly. Oliver put his hands upin a placating gesture but I saw the corner of his mouth twitch upwards into a smirk. He knew as well as I did what was about to happen. This was going to be fun.

I lunged towards Diggle, using all my weight to plow into his side. I knew I wouldn't be able to knock him over but I was hoping to throw him off balance. He was heavier than I anticipated but my blow still caused him to stagger forward as he tried to regain his balance. He was only offbalance for a second, but that second was all I needed and within a few more seconds I had Diggle pinned to the floor. My legs straddling his torso and my forearm pressed against his neck.

"Wow," I heard Felicity breathe as I got off of Diggle and offered him a hand up.

"You," he said slightly out of breath. "Have got to teach me that. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Same place I learned how to use a sword," I replied. "You wanna go again? I'll go easy on you." I asked smirking. Some of the tension between us seemed to have dissolved.

"Fine," he huffed and we squared up again. Even though I showed restraint this time around, I still had Diggle pinned to the ground fairly quickly.

"Again?" I asked giving him a hand up.

"Nah," he said shaking his head. "I think I've had enough embarrassment for one night."

"Oliver?" I asked turning towards him. He had taken a seat next to Felicity and they were both watching Diggle and I.

"No thanks," he said smiling. "I'll save myself the embarrassment."

"Suit yourself," I smirked putting my jacket back on and heading towards the steps. "I should probably get going anyways."

"It was nice to meet you," Felicity said.

"Yeah," I replied smiling. "You too." Overall my visit had been pretty successful. It seemed like I had found my place.

XXXFLASHBACKXXX

I awoke the next morning to the sound of guard entering my cell. I hoped that he would let me go or at least help me, but no such luck. The guard dropped a metal tray a few feet in front of me and left without a word.

I sat up slowly, careful not to make any motions that would worsen the numb ache that was spread through my whole body. Once I was sitting up and leaning against a wall, I tried to examine my injuries. Though the pain had dulled in my knee, it was a dark purplish color and almost twice the size of my other knee. I didn't dare touch it but I assumed that it was badly broken. Then there was the stab wound in my side. All the clothes I bunched around the wound were now stuck together with dried blood and there was a small pool of blood where I had slept. It was a miracle I hadn't bled out yet. I carefully removed my now ruined army fatigue to reveal a dirt and blood covered tank top. I saw that the blood closest to the wound was still wet so it must've still been bleeding. I folded my army fatigue into a long strip and wrapped it around the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding even though I knew it probably wouldn't help.

With that done I decide to investigate the tray that the guard had given me. I slowly and carefully dragged myself towards the tray until I was in arm's reach of it. I saw that it contained a chunk of French bread and a small cup of water. Even though the bread was hard as a rock and the water was dirty, I still scarfed down both.

After eating I felt a bit better, but that wasn't saying much considering I still felt awful. I knew I should try and fall asleep while I still could but I doubted I would be able too. Once again I was left with my thoughts.

I started to think about Daniel. I didn't know where he was or if he was even alive. The last time I saw him he had been shot and I never saw him get up. There was a part of me that believed he could still be alive and that the bullet hasn't hit anything important. But then there was the other side of me. The side that actually hoped he was dead so he wouldn't have to endure the same thing I was going through. All the pain, torture and who knows what else was to come.

I was so lost in though I didn't notice Jackson enter until he was standing a mere five feet in front of me.

"Hello Ivy," he said grinning wickedly and twirling a silver dagger. "Ready to have some fun?"

XXXEND FLASHBACKXXX

* * *

A/N: I hope everyone had a happy holidays! Please tell me what you think so far by leaving a review!


	7. Chapter 7: Reliving the Past

"Ivy!" My mom called up the steps. "Hurry up or we'll be late for your appointment!"

"I'll be down in a minute!" I called back. I was doing my best to take as much time as possible, but I knew I was only avoiding the inevitable.

"Ivy!" My mom called again. I could hear the impatience in her voice so I grudgingly left my room. "You know, I'm so glad you're doing this," my mom said as we got in the car. "I've heard that Dr. Balduf is amazing. She has a lot of experience dealing with soldiers after they come home." My mom continued ranting for the entirety of the twenty minute car ride, but after a while I started to zone out; occasionally nodding my head to make appear like I was listening. I didn't doubt that Dr. Balduf was a good therapist, I just didn't think I needed one. I had managed to bury the worst of my memories and seeing a therapist would bring them back to the surface.

My mom pulled the car into a parking garage under a giant office building and then we took the elevator to the fifteenth floor. When the doors to the elevator opened I saw a waiting area that looked almost childish. The walls were painted light green with small red and blue flowers spread throughout. There were a couple light blue couches and a coffee table with a variety of magazines on it. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting, but it wasn't what I thought it should look like.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" I whispered to my mom, but she hushed me.

"We have an appointment with Dr. Balduf for Ivy White," my mom said to a receptionist behind the counter.

"Of course," the man said. "She's finishing up with another patient right now, but if you could just have a seat in our waiting area I'm sure she'll be out shortly." My mom nodded and lead me to a couch in the corner. For whatever reason the waiting room made me tense and anxious so it was a relief when the receptionist told us Dr. Balduf was done and lead us back to her office. Dr. Balduf's office was more professional than the waiting room, but it still had a hint of childishness to it. The furniture was all pastel colors that complimented the whitewashed walls.

"Good morning," a petite woman said as she entered the room. She has long dark brown hair tied up in a bun and was wearing a simple black dress. "I'm Dr. Avery Balduf and you must be Ivy and Mary. It's very nice to meet both of you," she said shaking our hands. Dr. Balduf seemed a bit overexcited like she was hyped up on caffeine. She talked fast and didn't really give me or my mom a chance to say anything. Not that I minded, the less talking I had to do the better "Well why don't the two of you make yourselves comfortable and we can get started." We took a seat on a light purple couch while Dr. Balduf sat behind her desk which was directly in front of us.

"So Ivy, you were a sniper for the army?"

"Yeah," I said a bit uncertainly. It seemed weird that she was being so abrupt and straightforward but I figured there must be some psychological reason for it.

"What made you decide you wanted to join the army? Especially at such a young age?"

"I don't know," I lied. "I never really had a specific reason." Dr. Balduf hummed quietly and noted something on a pad of paper.

"Mary," she asked gently, turning to my mom. "Would it be possible for you to leave the room for a bit? I think it would give Ivy more of a chance to open up." I scowled slightly, not liking to be talked about as if I wasn't there.

"Oh of course," my mom replied quickly grabbing her purse. "I'll be in the waiting room if you need anything. Be good," she said giving me a kiss on my head and leaving the room. With my mom gone, it was just me and Dr. Balduf and for some reason that made uncomfortable, but I swallowed my discomfort and turned my attention back to her.

"You know you can tell me anything right?" she said, only continuing after I nodded. "Nothing said in here will ever leave this room. You're safe here. Now, are you sure there wasn't a specific reason for you wanting to join the army."

Nope," I replied. "No reason."

"How about your experience in Afghanistan, before you were...uh...captured?"

"It was fine, I guess. I mean apart from occasionally having to kill people, but that was my job so..." I trailed off. I hadn't really thought about it much before, but looking back it was actually an enjoyable time. Though I noticed Dr. Balduf's eyes widen slightly when I mentioned killing people. It was if she had never heard someone mention killing another person before. Or maybe she had just never heard someone say it so casually. But for whatever reason I laughed and the longer I thought about it the funnier it got. I hadn't even mentioned the people I killed after I joined the Dragon Warriors.

"I don't really see what is so funny about that," Dr. Balduf said after recovering from her moment of shock.

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to stifle a laugh. "It shouldn't even be funny."

"But what did you find that so funny?" She asked, peering at me strangely from behind her desk.

"It's nothing," I said regaining my composure. Dr. Balduf just hummed again and made another note on her notepad.

"Did the killing, did it bother you?" She asked, but she sounded a bit strained. I was starting to question how much experience she had in this field.

"Not really, at least not at the time I pulled the trigger. I was always shooting from far away and half the time I didn't pay attention to whether the bullet hit its taget so it didn't even seem real. I could almost pretend that I was just playing a game. It was a lot more real when I was up close and personal with the person," I said, lost in vivid memory of my some of my more violent kills.

"I thought you were a snipper? When were you 'up close and personal' with the person you killed?" I mentally cursed myself. I had been so lost in thought I hadn't noticed my slip up.

"Theoretically, I mean. If I had killed someone up close and personal it probably would've seemed a lot more real," I explained quickly. Dr. Balduf noted something on her notepad and I cursed myself again. That woman seemed to write down everything.

Dr. Balduf asked more and more questions about what my army experience was like, each more personal than the last. I tried to stay alert and focused, but it was hard. More and more memories kept coming to the surface; each of them worse than the last. Memories of what people had done to me. Memories of what I had done to other people. I was so focused on trying to keep the onrush of memories at bay I was completely unprepared for the next question.

"Now you were stationed at a research facility, right? Any idea what sort of research they were doing there?"

"I don't know," I said, flinching as if expecting some form of pain. I felt my cheeks heat slightly in embarrassment. There was no reason for me to expect any form of pain, but that was the instinctual reaction that had been ingrained in my mind for over six months. I watched Dr. Balduf make yet another note on her notepad, but at the moment I didn't care. Her question brought new memories forward. Memories that I had tried hardest to forget and I had mostly succeeded. But it didn't matter how long I had kept them buried, what mattered was that now they were all flowing to the front of my mind. It was taking all of my stregnth to not have a complete breakdown.

Dr. Balduf was asking another question, oblivious to my inner termoil. Her voice seemed quiet and faraway, but I tried to focus on it. I ran a hand through my hair while the other gripped the couch tight. It was all I could do to try and anchor myself to reality and to not let my memories overwhelm me. She was talking again, I swallowed and once again tried to focus on her voice.

"Ivy!" She said loudly, waiving a hand in front of my face. "Ivy! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I lied, forcing a smile. "I just have to use the bathroom." Dr. Balduf looked unconvinced, but she nodded.

"Down the hall to your left." I smiled gratefully and practically ran out of the room. But I didn't go to the bathroom, instead I walked through the halls; more focused on pushing back my memories and controlling my emotions rather than where I was going. By pure luck I found a staircase and threw open the door. I raced down the steps, nearly running into a couple people, but luckily they didn't give me more than an annoyed glare. I made my way out of the building and into the street. The sunlight was bright compared to the dark stairwell, but I barely noticed. All I knew was that I needed to get away. I needed to go somewhere, anywhere, without all the people. I needed to be alone. I ran my hand through my hair, trying to focus on thinking of a place where I could go. It took me a minute, but eventually I thought of a place and took off at full sprint.

The first place I thought of was Oliver's basement lair. It wasn't the ideal place because someone else was probably there, but I wasn't able to focus any longer.

As I ran I tried to concentrate on my breathing and my surroundings, anything to keep my mind off the memories that were washing over me. But it didn't work, I couldn't hold them back anymore, all the horrible memories of pain and torture. Tears burned in my eyes as I staggered the last few steps and almost collaspsd against the wall. I could barely breathe and my stomach felt sick. I wretched open the door and stumbled down the steps.

"Oh my god! Ivy?" I flinched at the voice from below. I saw Felicity run towards me through slightly blurred vision.

"I'm—I'm sorry," I muttered turning back the way towards the steps. "I—I didn't mean to bother you." I tried to go back up the steps, but my legs fell out from under me and I crumpled to the ground.

"Ivy!" Felicity called, rushing over to me.

"I'm fine," I said as tried to get up, but a wave a nausea hit me so hard I sank back to the ground. I shut my eyes and tried to breathe long, even breaths but it didn't help.

"I'm calling Oliver," she declared, taking out her phone.

"Don't," I said quietly, reaching my arm out towards her, but even that small of a motion made me nauseous. "I'm gonna puke," I said grabbing my stomach. Felicity's eyes widened, looking around for something for me to puke in. She grabbed a small trash can near one of the desks and ran back to me, just barely making it before I emptied the contents of my stomach.

As I heaved, Felicity sat beside me and rubbed circles on my back while whispering soothing comments. At last I was done and carefully raised my head out of the trash can.

"Are you okay?" She asked gently, placing a hand on my arm. Her eyes were filled with concern. I wanted to say that I was fine, but when I opened my mouth to speak nothing came out. My eyes filled with tears and I couldn't stop them as they flowed.

Felicity held me tight as I cried, not making a sound as she stroked my hair. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. The tears just kept coming. It had been years since I had last thought about all of fhose memories and reliving them now was almost as painful as when I had first gotten them.

Eventually the sobs stopped and I slowly pulled away from Felicity's embrace.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, trying to wipe my eyes. It was kind of embarrassing. I had only just met her yesterday and she already had to deal with me having a mental breakdown.

"Don't be, we all go through things like this," she said gently. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah," I said taking a deep breath. "I'm good." And for once it was true.

"What happened?" I took another deep breath, but Felicity helped me through it, she deserved to know.

"Seven years ago, I was sent to Afghanistan as a sniper. Eventually I ended up a this research facility, but one day the place was attacked and...I was captured." I paused for a second but Felicity didn't say anything. "For the next six months I was—I was tortured for information about the facility, but I—I didn't know anything. Then one day I was rescued by some people and I joined their...organization. They healed me and taught me how to fight, but...things happened and I returned to Starling. My family thought I died." Once again I paused for a second. I was telling her a lot, more than I had told most people, but it was different. It seemed right. "Anyways, my mom took me to a therapist this morning. She thought it would help me, I don't know, readjust to normal life, but it didn't. All it did was bring back the memories I had been trying to forget and I—I just couldn't take it. So I came here. I thought it was be a good place to be alone. Turns out I was wrong." Once I finished my story I looked at Felicity, waiting for her to respond.

"That must've been horrible," she finally said. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," I muttered, not quite sure how to answer.

"Does anyone else—" I shook my head, anticipating what her question would be.

"Oliver's the only one who knows the full story. Everyone else thinks I was held captive for the entire time " Felicity bobbed her head in understanding. "Could we—could we just keep this between us? I don't want Oliver to find out."

"Of course," Felicity replied. I smiled gratefully.

"Thank you," I said, "for everything." I really meant it, Felicity had done a lot for me and I think it really helped.

"Happy the help," Felicity said, her tone losing some of the seriousness that it held earlier. "You should probably get going before your family starts to worry."

"Yeah," I said, starting to climb back up the stairs. The sun felt nice on my face as I emerged from the dark basement and I felt a strange sort of peace as I started to walk. It was the first time in a long time that I didn't feel overwhelmed by those memories. The memories were still there, buried just beneath the surface, but the emotions associated with them didn't seem as bad. It must've done me some good to let everything come out at once.

I walked along at a slow pace, taking the time to observe my surroundings. But it wasn't in the way I normally did. Instead of watching for threats, I just watched the way the world worked. How the people bustled down the street. How the birds flew from tree to tree. It was nice, but like all good things it ended too soon.

After about thirty minutes I arrived back at the office building and took the elevator back up to the fifteenth floor. I used the short elevator ride as a chance to compose and mentally prepare myself. I knew that as soon as the doors opened I would be faced with lots of questions and people.

The doors opened with a ding and I took a deep breath before stepping out. Almost instantly I smothered in a fierce hug from my mom. She was crying into my should and mumbling things under her breath that I couldn't make out, but I got the impression that they weren't very nice.

"How could you?" My mom asked, pulling away angrily. "You promised that you wouldn't run away again!" I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. I didn't have an answer to that question because I had broken my promise. I felt bad but luckily Dr. Balduf appeared and saved me from having to answer. She jerked her head towards her office and both my mom and I obliged, following her to her office.

"What happened?" Dr. Balduf asked simply.

"Its nothing, I'm fine now," I said trying to brush it off.

"Nothing," she scoffed. "It obviously wasn't nothing. Something I said triggered you, but what exactly did it trigger?"

"It just brought up some bad memories, nothing I can't handle."

"Would you like to share those memories with us?"

"Not really," I said, starting to get annoyed. "I've relived those memories enough for one day." Dr. Balduf sat in silence for a moment before responding.

"You know," she said. "It can be helpful for people to share their bad memories and work through them. Are you sure—"

"Listen," I said , cutting her off. At this point I just wanted to go home. I didn't have the energy to deal with all of this right now. "I've been through hell and back. The things I went through—" I paused for a second. Some of the memories were coming back to the surface, but I tried to pushed them back down. The last thing I needed right now was for those memories to come back. "No person should ever have to go through what I did."

"But that's why we're here," my mom said, breaking me out of my thoughts. "We can help you."

"No," I said angrily, getting more frustrated by the second. "You don't understand. The things those people did to me, you couldn't even dream of. They tortured me in every way imaginable and then some. Those memories are going to haunt me for the rest of my life and having to relive them will just make it worse!" I hadn't realized it but my voice had been steadily getting louder and I practically yelled the last part. Some of the memories were starting to break through along with the emotions associated with them.

I was breathing heavy, unsuccessfully trying to regain my composure. My eyes darted back and forth between Dr. Balduf and my mom. Dr. Balduf seemed fascinated by my outburst, but my mom's eyes told a different story. In my mom's eyes, all I saw was sadness and pity. But I didn't want her pity. I didn't want her feeling like any of this was her fault when she obviously blamed herself. I sighed and dropped my gaze.

"I'm going to the car," I muttered, not being able to take anymore of this.

As I rode the elevator down to the parking garage I let all of the memories wash over me. I didn't have the energy to hold them back any longer. They were still painful, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been earlier. It was as if all of my feelings had been numbed. When I finally found the car, I climbed in and curled up on the backseat, letting the flood of memories consume me.

XXXFLASHBACKXXX

I screamed. Although I had only just met him recently, Jackson's presence filled me with terror. I scrambled backwards but he managed to close the gap between us in a few short strides.

"Pl—please, I'll tell you anything you want to know. Ju—just please don't hurt me," I begged. Jackson was standing over me now, silver dagger gleaming.

"All I want to know, is what they do at the facility you were stationed at."

"I—I don't know," I whimpered.

"Liar!" He screeched, slashing his dagger across my stomach. I screamed from the pain, but managed to stay conscious. "I know you know what they do there and I will do whatever it takes to get that information!"

"They—they never told us anything," I said desperately. "We weren't even allowed near the labs! Please you have to believe me!" I sobbed, but Jackson said nothing. He just gripped his dagger tighter and started slowly pulling it across my stomach. I screamed again. The pain was agonizing.

"Listen here," he said though gritted teeth. "I will get this information out of you one way or another. I don't care how long it takes. And all you have to do is tell me what I want to know."

"I told you, I don't know anything," I cried. I saw fury flash in his eyes and his dagger was moving again.

The next few hours passed in a blur and the only thing I really remembered afterwards was the pain. When I finally awoke some time later, I could only feel the white hot burning sensation that was spread throughout my body. There were dozens of gashes covering my torso. Some of them had closed, but others were still bleeding.

I started to cry. I was in so much pain I couldn't stand it anymore. I was scared. I missed my family. I wanted to go home. I just wanted this nightmare to be over. I heard the door open behind me and I turned towards it. I was expecting it to be Jackson, ready to torture me some more, but it wasn't him. A female guard entered the room and dropped a tray by my side. She then glanced behind her before pulling an extra chunk of bread out of her pocket and adding it to the trap.

"Who are you?" I asked. She was the first female guard I had seen and the only one who had been nice to me, but she ignored my question.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking at me with sadness in her eyes. Then she left without another word.

XXXEND FLASHBACKXXX

I don't know how much time had passed, but eventually I heard footsteps and a car door opened.

"Ivy?" My mom asked gently, shaking me out of my thoughts. "Honey are you okay?" I sat up and numbly nodded my head. I climbed up to the frontseat and we started the drive home. We sat in silence for a few minutes before my mom tried again.

"Do you want to talk about it?' She asked, but I shook my head. She didn't try to talk to me again.

Once we arrived home I went straight to my room, ignoring Elizabeth's and my dad's calls from the kitchen. From my room I could hear my mom tell them what happened and within seconds I heard feet pounding up the stairs.

"Ivy let me in!" Elizabeth demanded.

"No," I called back, not moving from where I sat on my bed.

"Ivy let me in," she said again. "Please, we can help."

"No, you can't. Please," I said, my voice cracking slightly. "Just leave me alone." I heard Elizabeth sigh, but thankfully she left me alone. I knew it hurt my family to see me like this, but there was nothing any of them could do. None of them really knew what I had gone through, so they couldn't help me. I had to do this alone.

I sat alone in my room for a couple hours, just letting my mind wander. The silence and peace was nice at first but eventually it got to me. I needed to go somewhere, do something. I couldn't just sit there anymore, so I grabbed a jacket and headed downstairs.

"I'm going out. I'll be back soon," I called as I passed the kitchen. I heard objections from my parents, but I ignored them and left before they had a chance to stop me.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own the Arrow universe, I'm simply borrowing it for my own amusement.


	8. Chapter 8: Return of The Huntress

_Trigger warning! This chapter mentions/describes rape, do not read if that triggers you!_

Stars were just starting to appear as I walked. The night sky still held a ting of pink and I could see the faint outline of the moon. There was a slight chill hanging in the air, so I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets and started to walk faster. I didn't really know where I was going, but it felt nice to get out of the house. I walked in silence apart from the occasional sound of a car passing, but after a while I heard the chatter of people and music in the distance. I turned the corner and saw a bunch of people huddled in clumps around a building. The bright neon lights told me that the club's name was Eclipse.

I debated whether or not I should go inside, but eventually I decided to go take a look to get out of the cold. Luckily, I didn't have to wait in line and I got in easily. Once inside, I realized that I might end up regretting my decision. The room was packed full people who were all screaming along to the already loud music.

I pushed my way through the swarms of people to reach the bar. I caught the attention of a bartender and pointed at a bottle of vodka, knowing the man wouldn't be able to hear me over all the noise. The bartender nodded and I took a seat. A moment later the man placed my drink in front of me, flashed a smile, and moved onto the next person.

I grabbed the glass and took the shot in one gulp. The liquid burned my throat as it went down, but a warmth settled within me once it reached my stomach. It felt nice. I put the empty glass upside down on the table and turned out to face the dance floor. I watched the people dancing with a slight fascination, zoning out a bit as I watched the crowd of people move with the beat.

"Is this seat taken?" I heard a timid voice ask from behind me, effectively bringing me back to reality. I turned to see a a small redhead girl standing next to me. She was probably a couple years younger than me and had pale skin with hazel-green eyes that were partially hidden by pink and brown glasses. I shook my head no and turned back out towards the dance floor. "I'm Claire, by the way," she said.

"Ivy," I replied, not taking my eyes off of the crowd of people. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone and I thought I was making that clear. Claire lapsed into silence for a moment.

"Do you come here often?" She asked. I sighed and turned around to face her, figuring she wasn't going to leave me alone.

"It's my first time," I said.

"Oh, it's my first time too," Claire exclaimed. "I just turned twenty-one a few weeks ago, so my friends and I have been exploring all the different clubs."

"Friends?" I asked skeptically, not seeing anyone with Claire.

"They're all on the dancefloor," she replied waving to a small group of girls near the edge of the crowd. Sure enough, several of the girls paused momentarily to wave back or flash a double thumbs up before continuing dancing.

"Why aren't you out there with them?"

"It's a bit too crowded and crazy for me. Plus I'm not a very good dancer. I prefer to just watch everyone," she said.

"Yeah," I muttered, understanding how she felt.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Claire blurted out suddenly. I saw her face turn red and she dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking, since we're both here. I mean if that's okay..." She trailed off. Her awkwardness was so cute and innocent I couldn't help but smile.

"That would definitely be okay," I replied and I saw a small smile appear on her lips as well. "And, if there's anything else you wanted, that would probably be okay too," I said, smiling mischievously. Claire turned even redder, but after slight hesitation she grabbed my hand.

"My car's only a block away," she said. "If you want to—" I interrupted her with a kiss.

"Then let's get going," I whispered into her ear. She looked at me for a second before practically dragging me to her car. As we maneuvered our way around the dance floor I heard shouts of encouragement from people who I assumed were Claire's friends, but she ignored them and we ran to her car.

Within minutes of leaving the club, we had reached Claire's car which was a Honda Civic. She fumbled with the keys before throwing the door open. She tumbled into the back seat and I followed, straddling her body and kissing her deeply.

We stayed like that for quite some time, my body pressed against hers as we made out. It wasn't until I felt her hands under my shirt fiddling with my bra clasp that I froze. I gently pulled her hands out from under my shirt and held them in mine.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, dropping her hands. "I'm so sorry, but I just can't. It's too soon." I saw her face fall, but she nodded.

"I understand," she said quietly.

"I should get going," I said, not meeting her gaze as I got out of the car.

"Wait," she said, climbing into the front seat and opening the glove compartment. "My number, in case you change you mind," she said handing me a small business card. I took the card and gave her a small smile before walking away without a word.

I felt bad for letting things get as far as they did, but I wasn't ready. It was just too soon. Even after everything that had happened in the past few weeks, I couldn't bring myself be with another person. I knew that I would never be able to see Kamaria again and that I would have to find someone eventually, but the memories of my lover were still fresh in my mind, making it impossible to do anything sexual without thinking of her.

I walked along slowly, letting the cool night air calm me. Instead of going home, I decided to go to Oliver's lair. It was a fairly far walk, but there were lots of cabs in the area to take the partiers home. I stopped an empty one as it turned the corner and climbed in. The driver grumbled a bit about having to drive to the other side of the glades, but took me there nonetheless.

He dropped me off a few blocks from the Queen's old steel factory and I walked the rest of the way. I made my way to the side door and punched in the key code.

"Is anyone here?" I called, walking down the steps.

"We're down here," I heard Oliver's voice call from below.

"Hey," I said. "What's up?" I asked when I saw the three of them surrounding one of the computer monitors.

"One of Oliver's psycho ex-girlfriends is back in town," Diggle said, stopping me in my tracks.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"Take a look for yourself," Felicity said, bringing up a video on the moniter. The video showed a woman dressed in a stripper costume pointing a crossbow at a man's chest. There was no sound, but the two appeared to be talking. Then the woman shot an arrow into the man's chest.

"Who was that? When did this happen?" I asked, confused by what I saw.

"It's security camera footage from Alley Cat's, a strip club, from earlier tonight. The woman is Helena Bertinelli also known as the Huntress. Last time we saw her she was hellbent on killing her father," said Diggle.

"But why is she back? And why did she kill that man?"

"I don't know," replied Oliver, sounding frustrated. "As far as I know her father is still in jail. Felicity, can you run facial recognition on the man Helena killed?"

"I can try," Felicity said, fingers flying across the keyboard. "The quality's not very good and the camera angle isn't ideal, but I'll do my best." Oliver nodded and grabbed his bow off one of the tables.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"Out," he replied tensely. "Let me know when you get something," he said to Felicity and Diggle who were both hunched over the computer.

"Great, I'll come with you," I said, grabbing a couple knives and putting them in my boots. Oliver looked like he was about to argue, but he must've thought better of it.

"Just stay out of my way," he said and I nodded. We climbed up the steps and went out into the refreshing night air. "Hop on," he called as he retrieved his motorbike and tossed me a helmet. I placed the helmet on my head and climbed onto the back of bike, circling my arms around Oliver's stomach to stay on.

"So who're you after tonight," I asked loudly enough to be heard over the rush of the wind as we drove through the city.

"Danny Haberl," Oliver called back. "A big shot lawyer who's been stealing money from several charities around town. I want to try and get him as he leaves work," he said, pulling into a parking garage under a large office building.

Sure enough, I could see the outlines of several people at the opposite end of the garage. I felt the bike accelerate and heard gunshots ring out. Oliver swerved to the side and notched an explosive tipped arrow. He took a second to aim and then shot the arrow directly in from of the group of guards. The small explosion created a distraction which gave me a chance to disarm most of them using the knives hidden in my boots. Oliver slowed the bike to a stop and he went to go confront Danny Haberl while I engaged the two remaining guards in hand to hand combat.

The men weren't the best fighters and within minutes I had both men knocked out on the ground. I turned to find Oliver and saw that he had Danny pinned against a stone pillar with an arrow pointed at his chest. I stood off to the side while Oliver finished up and tried to slow my breathing. Even though the fight had been relatively short, it had given me a lot of adrenaline.

I saw Danny give a hurried nod and then sprint to his car, looking terrified all the way. Oliver joined me by his bike with a satisfied look on his face after Danny had driven away.

"I take it that everything went well," I said.

"He said he would return all the money he had taken and promised to never do it again, but we'll have to wait and see whether he lives up to his promises." Oliver paused for a moment and I heard the faint sound of sirens in the distance. "We should get going," he said getting on his bike. I nodded and climbed on after him before we sped off.

We arrived back at the old factory only a few short minutes later. Oliver and I had just made it through the door before Diggle's voiced called out from below.

"Felicity managed to identify the man. His name's Gus Sabatoni and he's Frank Bertinelli's lawyer," said Diggle. I heard Oliver sigh and he ran his hands over his face.

"Okay," said Oliver slowly. "It's obvious Helena's back for a reason and we need to figure out what that reason is."

"What happened to her father?" I asked.

"He's serving consecutive life sentences in Iron Heights," replied Felicity. "So whatever brought her back may not be related to him.

"We need to find Helena," Oliver said, "before she kills anyone else. I'm going to go contact the Bratvata, see if they know anything. Can you guys go talk to people on the street, try and find out where she's staying?"

"Yeah," I said as Diggle and I both grabbed some weapons just in case we needed them, and followed Oliver out of the basement.

XXXFLASHBACKXXX

The days slowly turned into weeks and I steadily got weaker. Everyday Jackson would come and torture me in an attempt to gain information and then leave once I was unconscious. Except he never believed me when I would tell him that I didn't know anything, so I suffered in silence.

As the days passed, I began to lose hope. I was all alone and no one even knew where I was. It eventually got to a point where I wished I would just die, so I wouldn't have to endure the endless pain. Jackson didn't care what he had to do to me, he would do anything to get the information he needed. He used a variety of unique torture techniques on me and it's possible that I would've found them interesting had I not been on the receiving end of the torture.

One day, after roughly a month and a half of captivity, Jackson entered my cell without his normal tools. A vague sort of hope rose in me, but it was crushed the moment he slammed the door shut behind him. He crossed the floor in a few short strides and threw me to the ground where he proceeded to straddle my body. Jackson then started to kiss me with a hunger, as if he hadn't been kissed in months. I was so shocked that at first I didn't react, but once I got over my inital reaction I struggled against his grip. I tried to pull away, but he was too strong. I didn't have a chance.

A couple minutes later he began to grab at my breasts and butt viciously. It felt good in a really bad way. Eventually I started to cry. I knew where this was going, but I was helpless to stop it. This wasn't what my first time was supposed to be like.

Jackson ignored my sobs and proceeded to rip the remains of my tattered clothes off. I felt several wounds reopen and blood started to pour out. I cried harder and barely noticed when he penetrated me, came inside me, and then left. I felt the sticky blood covering me as I tried to reach for my tattered shirt, but even the small movement made me feel faint. All of a sudden I felt almost weightless and the room started spinning.

I didn't remember passing out, but I woke to the female guard whispering soothing words to me and bandaging my reopened wounds. I was surprised to see her since I had only seen her once before. I opened my mouth to speak, but she shushed me.

"Rest," she said quietly. "You lost a lot of blood." So I did just that. I dozed while she continued to bandage my wounds. Some time later I heard the door open and I flinched at the loud noise.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Jackson spat, storming over to the guard.

"Healing her," the guard replied calmly, not looking up from what she was doing. Jackson hit her hard and she gave a small cry as she hit the floor.

"She," he said gesturing at me, "is our prisoner! I am torturing her for information! Healing her defeats the purpose of all of this!"

"She almost bled out earlier," the guard said, not moving from her position on the floor. She met his gaze steadily, with an unspoken challenge. "If she dies you have no one to get your information from." Jackson must've realized her point because he glanced from her, to me, and back again.

"Come with me," he growled, stalking out of the room. The guard got up slowly and gave me a look full of pity before following him out.

XXXEND FLASHBACKXXX

I returned to the old factory roughly an hour and a half later in a bad mood.

"Did you find anything out?" Felicity asked, looking up from the computer.

"No," I said angrily, throwing the knife I grabbed earlier down on the table. I must've talked to almost twenty different people, but none of them knew anything. "Are Oliver and Diggle back yet?"

"No, I haven't heard from either of them since they left," she said. "Are you sure you're okay? After everything that happened this morning —"

"Yeah," I said cutting her off, "I'm fine." Felicity didn't look convinced, but she let it slide.

Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me."

"Thank you," I responded. "But I don't think I'm ready to talk about what happened." I saw her nod out of the corner of my eye and we lasped into silence, the only sound was that of her fingers on a keyboard.

A couple minutes later I heard the door open with a bang. I grabbed the knife, expecting an intruder, but it was only Oliver.

"Find anything?" I asked, placing the knife back down on the table.

"No," he replied, rubbing his hands over his face. "I'm gonna wait here for Dig to get back. Why don't you two go home."

"Okay," Felicity said, looking a bit surprised. I was surprised too, Oliver wasn't normally like this. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said grabbing her purse and climbing up the steps. I waited for the door to shut behind her before turning to Oliver.

"What's up?"

"Nothing," he replied, but it was obviously a lie.

"You do know that you're a horrible liar, right?" I said, smiling ever so slightly. "What's really bothering you?"

"I just have a lot on my mind at the moment," he said sighing deeply and rubbing his hands through his hair.

"Like what?"

"For one, there's Helena and then the club's opening tomorrow..." he trailed off. I figured that there was more to tell about Helena, but I wasn't going go push it. So instead I decided to focus on the second part of his statement.

"Your club's opening tomorrow? That's a good thing isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's just, with Helena and all of this," he said gesturing to the set-up around us, "things could get complicated."

"Then we'll deal with any complications after they happen," I said simply. "For now, let's just focus on getting the club open."

"Yeah," he said, nodding slowly. "Are you gonna come? To the opening tomorrow, I mean."

"Hmmm," I said pretending to think about it. "Will there be free drinks?" Oliver gave a hearty laugh and I smiled. "Of course I'm coming, you idiot," I said pushing him gently. "I should probably get going. Don't stay out too late!" I called as I climbed the steps and prepared myself to go back into the cold.

"No promises," he called back. I rolled my eyes and smiled as I closed the door behind me.

* * *

A/N: I'm so so so sorry about taking forever to update, but I haven't really had time to do anything, let alone write. Having massive writer's block for this chapter didn't help either. Anyways, I'll do my best to get the next chapter out quickly, but I don't known when that will be. I'm also boosting the rating to M just to be safe.


	9. Chapter 9: A Night to Remember

It was almost one in the morning by the time I got home. I tried to be quiet as I walked to my room, but the squeaky floorboards made it impossible.

"Ivy?" I heard a muffle voice ask from the living room. I whipped around to see my sister half asleep on one of the couches.

"Elizabeth? What are you still doing up?"

"I was waiting for you," she said sitting up and wrapping a blanket tighter around her shoulders. "I'm worried about you "

"Well, you don't need to," I said, tensing ever so slightly. "I'm fine."

"No Ivy, you're not fine," she said, her tone hardening. "You spent the last seven years held prisoner by some maniac. You can't just come home and act like it never happened. You need help." I sighed and sat down on the couch.

"I went through things, so many horrible things," I explained quietly. "Things I don't want to have to think about ever again." Elizabeth's sighed in defeat and moved closer to me.

"I missed you," she whispered while embracing me in a fierce hug. "And I don't think I could stand to lose you again." I wasn't sure how to respond, so I stayed silent while returning the hug. I had missed so many things in my younger sister's life; her first date, her first kiss, her high school graduation. It dawned on me that I barely knew her anymore.

"Tell me everything," I said suddenly, breaking the silence. A lot had changed in the past seven years, but Elizabeth was still my baby sister. I wanted to reform the bond we had once had. "I want to know everything that happened since the day I left." Elizabeth smiled and instantly started to talk. I quickly grabbed a blanket and curled up next to her.

We talked for hours. Elizabeth talked about what she went through during those seven years and we both relived old memories of us when we were younger. Not once did the conversation falter, not even when we went to go make hot chocolate in the kitchen. We were still talking when our dad came down the steps a little before seven to get ready for work.

"Were you girls up all night?" he asked and we sheepishly nodded. He shook his head disapprovingly, but I could see a glimmer of happiness in his eyes. He was happy that his daughters were reconnecting. "You should get some rest before tonight."

"That's right!" Elizabeth squealed. "Oliver's club is opening tonight! Ivy, you have to come with me!" It wasn't really a question, but I nodded in acknowledgment. I was already going, so why not go with my sister. Suddenly Elizabeth squealed again.

"We'll have to go shopping to find you something to wear!" I was about to object, saying that I could just wear something I already owned, but my dad beat me to it.

"That sounds like a great idea," he said reaching for his wallet. "How about I give you two a little spending money?" If it was possible, Elizabeth's smile grew even bigger as she ran to go hug our dad. I wanted to argue, but the looks on both my sister's and my dad's face told me that I should just like it slide.

"Come on," she said grabbing my hand and practically dragging me towards the door.

"Elizabeth, it's only seven in the morning, none of the stores are gonna be open," I said freeing myself of her grip. I saw her face fall slightly, as if she had only just realized how early it was.

"Why don't you take a short nap and then leave once the stores are actually open," my dad suggested. "You're going to need your energy if you're going out tonight."

"I guess," my sister replied a bit disheartenedly, but I knew she would perk up again once we actually left.

After Elizabeth and I went back to our respective rooms, I tried in vain to fall asleep. I lied in bed for almost an hour, but to no avail. Over the past several years, nights where I got little or no sleep weren't uncommon, so I gave up and decided to take a shower.

There were still several hours until any of the stores opened, so I took my time and let the warm water wash over my body. I emerged half an hour later feeling cleansed and refreshed.

After putting on a fresh set of clothes and doing my hair, I plopped down on the coach and turned on the TV. It felt like such a mindless thing to do, especially when there were other things I could be doing, but watching TV had been a pleasure I hadn't often gotten a chance to do.

I flicked through the channels several times before finally settling on a cooking show that seemed interesting. I had actually gotten fairly involved in it by the time my mom came downstairs at ten thirty.

"What're you still doing up?" She asked, coming over to ruffle my hair. "You were out so late last night, I thought you would sleep in."

"I couldn't sleep," I replied simply, only glancing at her briefly before returning my attention to the TV.

"What were you doing last night anyways?"

"I went for a walk around the glades," I lied. I heard my mom sigh, but she didn't ask anymore questions.

"Just be careful. The glades are a rough place and I don't want you to get hurt." She meant it in an overprotective mother way, but I almost laughed at the thought of someone trying to mug me. Anyone who tried to attack me wouldn't stand a chance. "I'm gonna make pancakes," she said, wisely changing the subject. "You want any?" Suddenly aware of how hungry I was, I nodded and followed her into the kitchen.

By the time Elizabeth emerged from her room half an hour, there were two big stacks of pancakes set on the table; one plain and one with chocolate chips.

"Morning sleepyhead," my mom said as Elizabeth plopped down at the table and started piling pancakes on her plate. "Have any plans for today?"

"Ivy and I are going shopping and then we're going to the opening of Oliver's club tonight," she said in between bites. My mom glanced in my direction and when I nodded, relief shone in her eyes. She was happy to see that the broken bond between us was slowly healing.

"That sounds nice. I'm sure you two will have a great time." She paused for a second as her eyes sweep across the headline of today's paper.

 _Starling City's Vigilante Has a New Partner in Crime_

 _Late last night, the Starling City Vigilante was joined by a new friend when he attacked lawyer Danny Haberl. This 'friend' appears to be a female in her mid-twenties, though not much else about her appearance is known. Witnesses describe her as being a 'storm of darkness' and seems to be very lethal..._

I tensed slightly, waiting for either my mom or my sister to make the connection, but they never did. It was surprising that the news had gotten out so fast about a new vigilante, but all it meant was that I would have to be more careful when I went out with Oliver. Maybe I would get some sort of a mask to cover my face.

"Where do all these vigilantes come from?" My mom asked no one in particular. I just shrugged and tried to keep my features neutral.

"Elizabeth and I should probably start getting ready," I said, quickly changing the subject. "The stores will be opening soon."

"Yeah!" My sister cheered in agreement. All talk of vigilantes forgotten for the moment.

We quickly finished eating our breakfast and after taking half an hour to get ready, we were on our way to the first store.

"Here we are," she said, parking the car in front of medium sized, whitewashed building. "Forever Young. I think you might've been here once or twice before. Either way, it has some great clubbing outfits." She babbled as strolled through the store, slowly making our way to the section we were looking for. "I was thinking about something with sequins for you—"

"No," I said, finally stopping her rant. "No sequins."

"Fine," she huffed, "be boring." I smirked. "How about this one?" She asked as she pulled a bright red skin-tight strapless dress off of a rack and held it up against my body.

"No," I said instantly. "I don't like the color." Plus the back was low enough that it would show the worst of my scars. I grabbed a light pink, tutu-like dress with a a sweetheart neckline and held it up against my sister. "This would look good on you."

Elizabeth squeeled at the sight of the dress and grabbed it out of my hands before running off to the dressing rooms. I trailed behind at my own pace. Sadly, none of the dresses I passed caught my eye. Almost all of then were cut in a way that would show one scar or another. I had never really been self-conscious of my scars, but they werent exactly something I wanted to show off, especially not to my family.

"How do I look?" My sister asked, reappearing from the dressing room and striking a pose.

"Amazing," I said smiling. The dress complimented her body in all the right ways. "Are you going to get it?" She nodded.

"All we have to do now is find one for you."

"Are you sure I can't just wear something I have in my closest?" I asked even though I aleady knew the answer.

"Nonsense!" She cried. "We'll find something. Just start looking while I change." I sigh, but left the changing room nonetheless.

Elizabeth joined me in my search a couple minutes later, but even after twenty minutes of looking we had yet to find anything.

"Just try this one on," she begged. It was a simple, long sleeved, black dress. Perfect aside from the fact that the cutout in the back was precisely where I had some serious burns.

"No," I said, trying, and failing, to keep my frustration out of my voice.

"Why won't won't you give any of them a chance?"

"Because I know they won't look good on me." I was struggling to keep my temper under control.

"How can you know that without trying them on?" My sister asked exasperatedly.

"Trust me," I said, my voice cold, "I know." I had memorized every inch of my body. The placement of every scar. She sighed, but went back to looking.

"This one?" She asked holding up a deep blue dress that was covered with a black lace. Some of my minor scars would be visible through the lace around the collar bone, but it was the best one we had found so far.

"I'll try it," I said, grabbing the dress and heading towards the changing room. Elizabeth sighed in relief as she followed me.

Once inside the changing room, I quickly changed into the dress. It fit me better than I had hoped. The dress hugged my body nicely and the black lace was dark enough to hide most of my scars. The only problem I had with it was that it was a bit short. It fell just above my knees which unfortunately showed all the horrible scar tissue surrounding my left knee, but I could live with that.

"What do you think?" I asked. I stepped out of the room and lifted my arms slightly to give her a better vew of the dress.

"Oh my God, Ivy," she breathed, "it's beautiful. Are you going to get it?"

"Duh," I said, smiling. Elizabeth's laugh sounded rich and pure as it echoed off the walls. I quickly changed back into my normal clothes, grateful that she hadn't noticed any of my scars. I wasn't in the mood for that conversation, though I knew she would notice them eventually.

Once I reemerged from the changing room, we hurried to the cashier. When combined, the dresses were pretty expensive, but Elizabeth assured me that it wasn't really that much. I knew she was lying, but I swallowed my objections and soon we had left the store.

"Where do you want to go to lunch?"

"Wherever you want to go," I said, drapping my arms around her shoulders. "Lead the way."

XXXFLASHBACKXXX

The days slowly turned into weeks and the weeks slowly into months. I had lost track of how long it had been since I was first captured, but it had probably been about three or four months. It was the same everyday. Jackson would come in and do whatever his dark, twisted mind has come up with. At this point, even if I told him what little I knew about the facility it probably wouldn't do anything. He rarely asked me about it anymore and seemed to simply enjoy using my battered and broken body as stress relief.

I was only given just enough food to survive, so I was too weak to struggle anymore. Most of the time I would just lay there like a rag doll while Jackson did what he wanted to me. I didn't even scream anymore. I let the pain wash over me. It was an almost welcome feeling because everytime he tortured me, I could feel myself getting closer to death. I knew no one would find me and I knew I would die here. Death would be my escape out of this hellish nightmare.

The door opened to my cell, breaking me out of my morbid thoughts. I was expecting Jackson, but I was surprised to see the female guard. I hadn't seen her since the time she saved me from bleeding to death months ago. She quietly shut the door behind her and rushed to my side. Up close, I could see bags under her eyes and a faint scar running down her cheek that hadn't been there last time.

She said nothing as she sat down beside me and took a chunk of bread out of a small bag hanging from her belt. She broke off pieces and slowly fed them to me. It was more than I had eaten in the past two days combined.

After I had finished the bread, she took some antiseptic and bandages out her bag and started tending my wounds. It wasn't until she was almost done that she finally spoke.

"I have a plan," she whispered into my ear. It took me a moment to process the words. Even after letting them sink in I still couldn't believe them.

"What?" I croaked, my voice weak from disuse.

"I have a plan to get you out," she whispered more forcibly this time. "But you're going to have to trust me." Hope started to rise in my chest for the first time in months.

"What do I have to do?"

XXXEND FLASHBACKXXX

We finally returned home several hours later. Elizabeth had decided to drag me all over the city. She had first taken me to a small deli for lunch and then to an ice cream store for dessert. After that she insisted that we had to go to Sephora to get our makeup done which I found a bit unnecessary, but it made her happy, so I went along with it. By the time we got home, we only had a couple hours before we had to leave for Oliver's club. I had been planning on going for a run, but that would ruin my makeup so instead I plopped down on the couch with the intent to read an old book. I only got a few pages in before Elizabeth came in and started watching a sitcom. I tried to stay focused on my book, but eventually I gave up and started watching it with her.

An hour later, the episode was over and Elizabeth went to go get dressed. I decided to wait a bit longer before getting dressed since all I really had to do was pull on my new dress. Though I ended up wishing I hadn't procrastinated as long as I had because that was proving more of a challenge than I thought it would be.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. The zipper on the back of my dress had gotten stuck and I was struggling to pull it free without ripping the dress.

"Ivy?" Elizabeth called as she walked into my room. "Can you help me—" I whirled around, but not fast enough. My sister stopped dead in her tracks with her mouth hanging open. "Oh my god, Ivy," she whispered. I sighed and turned around again so my back was facing her.

"Zip me up please?" I asked quietly. "The damn zipper's stuck." She nodded slightly and moved towards me slowly; as if she was in a daze.

"The doctors said there were scars," she breathed, more talking to herself than to me. "But this is..." Elizabeth let her fingers brush over some of the more prominent ones before reaching for my zipper and fixing it. "I'm so sorry Ivy," she said, her eyes locking with mine as I turned to face her. She embraced me in a fierce but loving hug and I welcomed her embrace. I let my composure slip slightly, but when we pulled apart, my facade was back in place. It had to stay there or I would break down again and I couldn't deal with that again.

"Come on," I said quietly. Even to me my voice sounded hollow and distant. I grabbed my boots and my purse and headed out to the car. Thankfully, Elizabeth only sighed and followed after me.

The car ride to Oliver's club was mostly silent, it wasn't until we pulled up that Elizabeth finally spoke.

"How," she said, refusing to meet my gaze. "How did you get them?"

"I don't want to talk about it," I responded, slowly getting out of the car. Elizabeth placed her hand on my arm. I flinched at the touch, but didn't pull away.

"Please, Ivy," she whispered, gripping my arm. "You need to open up to me." I sighed deeply.

"I was a prisoner of war, Elizabeth," I replied, my voice tired. "They wanted information from me...and they didn't care how they got it." Her grip on my arm loosened and I pull away. "Listen, can we just not talk about this right now." She hesitated, but nodded after a moment.

We quickly made our way into the crowded club, not having to wait too long in the line outside since most people were already inside. I went straight to the busy bar and ordered drinks for Elizabeth and myself. I saw her cast a concerned glance in my direction, but she didn't comment, so I ignored it. Our drinks came a couple minutes later and I downed mine in one gulp. A warmth spread throughout my body and I smiled slightly. I really needed that after earlier this evening. Elizabeth on the other hand only took a couple small sips of her drink before standing up.

"I'm gonna go dance," she yelled over the blaring music, purposely not mentioning the conversation we had in the car just minutes before. "Do you wanna come?"

"Maybe later," I responded, frowning at the overcrowded dance floor. She nodded and left for the dancing mass of people. I sat alone for while, just watching people interact around me. I scanned the crowd for Oliver, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even if that needle was over six feet tall and incredibly buff.

"Can I buy you a drink honey?" I turned to find a man leering at me with a drunk smile.

"No, thank you," I replied with forced pleasantness. I wanted to avoid a fight if possible.

"Come on," he slurred, placing his hand on my shoulder and raking his eyes over my body. Faster than he expected I ripped his hand away from me and was on my feet, ready to find somewhere else to sit.

"Don't fucking touch me," I snarled.

"Come on," he said as he tried to stand up, but he was so drunk he crashed into me. I shoved him off as he tried to grope my boob. I was about to walk away when I felt a strong hand on my lower back.

"You heard her," a deep voice said from behind me. I didn't have to turn around to know that it was Oliver. The drunk man took one look at Oliver and slinked away muttering about getting another drink.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked, stepping into my field of view.

"Yeah," I said, swallowing the lingering discomfort. "I just hate men like that." He murmed his agreement and ordered drinks for both of us. "How's the grand opening going?"

"Pretty well actually. People seem to really be enjoying themselves. It looks like its been a success." Our drink arrived and Oliver took a sip of his. I did the same. "Are you having fun?" I detected a bit of uncertainty in his eyes.

"Of course," I replied, relief shone in Oliver's eyes. The incident that had occurred several minutes ago had been forgotten. "I'm just not one for dancing."

"Yeah," he murmured, "me neither." There was a short pause in our conversation. "Helena paid me a visit earlier this morning." I looked at him and noticed his features were tense. "Her father is getting some sort of deal and will be going into protective custody. She wants my help to take him down."

"You're not going to help her, are you?"

"No," he responded, rubbing his hands through his hair. "But she seems desperate and I don't know how far she'll go to get my help."

"Do you think she'll try something tonight?" I asked, eyes scanning the crowd for any sign of the young woman.

"I don't know," he said doing the same. "She might." I took a minute before responding. If Helena really was desperate enough then she might try something at the club, but it also could draw unwanted attention.

"Then we'll just have to keep our eyes open," I finally replied. I gave him a playful shove off of the stool. "Now go, mingle with your costumers." He smiled and I gave him another push.

"I'll tell you if Helena tries anything," he said, reluctantly getting off of his stool.

"Go," I order, not even a minute after Oliver had left, Elizabeth showed up. Her face was flushed and she was sweating slightly.

"Was that Oliver Queen you were talking to?" She asked, a suggestive grin on her face.

"Yeah," I said rolling my eyes. "He recognized me from the other night and asked how I liked his club."

"Oooooo," she said, still smiling suggestively.

"Shush," I laughed, placing a finger over her lips. Elizabeth laughed in response.

"I'm about to go back out." She gestured to the still crowded dance floor. "Why don't you join me?" I shook my head no. I didn't like to dance. "Come on," Elizabeth pleaded. "You can't spend the whole night by the bar." She gave me a pouty face that she used to make when she was a little kid.

"Fine," I said rolling my eyes and holding my hands up in mock defeat. I could never resist for pouty face. "Just for a little bit." Elizabeth grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the dance floor.

The dance floor was full of drunk, sweaty people and initially, I stayed near the edge and just swayed to the beat, but Elizabeth dragged me further into the mass of people. Slowly, I started to loosen up and eventually I lost myself to the music. I didn't know how long I was there, just enjoying the music, but I was pulled back to reality when a deep voice spoke behind me.

"We have a problem," Oliver whispered in my ear. I understood the hidden message and I followed him off the dance floor. Elizabeth didn't notice my absence.

"What happened?" I asked, following Oliver to the secret basement lair.

"I got a note saying to meet Dig downstairs. He didn't say what was wrong." I nodded as we descended the steps to the dark and gloomy basement. "Dig?" Oliver called out.

"Oliver!" A panicked voice yelled from below followed by a shout of pain. We sprinted down the rest of the steps to find Helena pinning Tommy to a table. His arm was being held forcibly behind his back in a way that looked painful.

"Let him go," Oliver demanded, stepping towards them. I hung back, figuring it was best to let Oliver handle it.

"My father is a mobster and a murderer. You have killed men like him before," Helena cried, pushing Tommy's arm back further. He grunted in pain.

"Helena," Oliver said gently, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "You don't have to do this. You can find a way to accomplish your goal without killing."

"Isn't that what you taught me to do? Use leverage?" She pushed Tommy's arm back further, ignoring his screams and then glanced up to the ceiling. She was planning on taking down the entire club if Oliver didn't agree to help her. I glanced at Oliver, uncertain of what I should do. Oliver was tensed, as if ready for a fight, but he was also hesistant. He didn't want his friend getting caught in the crossfire. "Please Oliver, don't make me do something we'll both regret."

Oliver was silent for a moment, the only sound was Tommy's whimpering. "Okay," he finally said, sounding defeated. "Okay, you win just let him go!" Helena just stared at him, a slightly crazed look in her eyes. "Let...him...go!" Oliver demanded. She hesitated for a moment longer and then released Tommy who crumpled to the ground, groaning and clutching his probably broken arm. Then she stalked out, leaving the three of us alone.

Oliver rushed to his friend's side while I rummaged through the various medical supplies to find bandages. We made quick work of bandaging Tommy's arm and throughout the whole ordeal, Oliver was murmuring supportively in his friend's ear. It was a side of him that I had only seen a couple times before. His overprotective and caring side only came out when he was dealing with people he really cared about. Having this side of him come out now just showed how much he cared for Tommy. But what I found strange was that ever since Helena had left, Tommy had refused to look Oliver in the eyes. Were they fighting or did he not know about Oliver's alter ego? I filed those questions away for a different time.

"Did I make the right choice?" Oliver finally asked as we finished bandaging Tommy. I sighed, knowing this question would come eventually.

"It wasn't my call to make," I said simply. "But I'm here if you need." Oliver had been faced with an impossible decision, so he picked what he thought was the best option. I wasn't even completely sure what I would've done had I been in his position, so all I could so was trust that everything would work out.

"Thank you," Oliver said, relief evident in his voice. "I'll see you tomorrow." I nodded and made my way back up the steps to the club's main level. Oliver and Tommy followed close behind, but instead of rejoining the mass of people in the club, they quietly snuck out a back door, probably on their way to the hospital.

"There you are!" my sister exclaimed, slurring her words slightly as she appeared by my side. She was obviously drunk.

"I had to use the restrooms," I lied. "We should probably go home, it's getting late." I reached an arm towards her but she batted it away.

"It's only midnight silly," Elizabeth slurred before returning to the dance floor. I felt exhaustion starting to creep into my body and I debated whether or not I should I should chase her down and drag her dome, but I decided to let her enjoy the night for a bit longer.

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A/N: I'm really sorry that it took me so long to update. School and sports have left me with very little time to write, but luckily that's all over for a couple months so hopefully, I'll be updating a lot more frequently. Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and/or reviewed!


	10. Chapter 10: Completion of my Duty

I awoke the next morning to the sound of the phone ringing in the kitchen. Elizabeth had refused to come home until well after two in the morning and even then it had been a fight to get my drunk sister home, so I was utterly exhausted. My head throbbed and I was starting to regret having those few extra drinks after the whole Helena fiasco.

"Fuck," I muttered, glancing at my clock. It was only ten in the morning. Knowing that I wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep, I dragged myself out of bed and down to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.

The bright sunlight pouring into the kitchen did nothing to help my head. I had just sat down at the table, a mug filled with warm black liquid in my hands, when my mom came in, still talking on the phone. I was about to leave, so as not to disturb her conversation, but she motioned for me to stay. A moment later she handed the phone to me.

"Hello?" I asked, sipping my coffee.

"Good morning Lietenanent White," a gruff voice sounded on the other end. "It's Colonel Russo. If I remember correctly, we never had a chance to finish our conversation the other day. Would it be possible for us to meet today, so we could finish our conversation and deal with some paperwork?" I bit back and groan and took another sip of coffee. I was not in the mood to deal with any army stuff today and I already had enough on my plate helping Oliver with Helena. Just thinking of all this made my head throb even more.

"Lieutenant White?" He asked. "Are you still there?"

"Of course," I answered quickly, focusing my thoughts back on the conversation at hand. "When would be a good time to meet?"

"How about one at my office in the army recruitment building?"

"Sounds great," I said. "I'll see you then." As soon as the call ended I groaned and laid my head on the table.

"You know that you could've just asked to meet on as different day, right?" My mom asked, not having moved where she leaned against the kitchen doorway. "On a day when you weren't hungover," she added giving me a knowing smirk. I only groaned and buried my head in my hands. I had forgotten how bad hangovers could be. "How much did you have to drink last night?" She came over and placed an arm around my shoulder.

"Too much," I replied, having lost track of the number of drinks I had last night. My mom smiled grimly and patted my shoulder.

"Well, apart from the excessive drinking, did you and Elizabeth have fun?" I hadn't removed my head from my arms, but I could tell she had left my side and was starting to make breakfast. I felt slightly naseous at the thought of food.

"Yeah," I replied vaguely. "There was a lot of dancing and it was fun."

"Did you meet anyone special?"

"No," I laughed. "But Oliver Queen was there and we talked for a few minutes."

"Hmmm," my mom replied, giving me the same suggestive look Elizabeth had the night before. I only rolled my eyes. "Want any?" she asked, placing eggs and bacon on the table. I shook my head no and swallowed hard to keep from being sick.

My mom and I continued to talk for a while as she ate her breakfast. My night had been uneventful, not counting the incident with Helena or the drunk man, neither of which I mentioned to my mom, but she kept asking me about it nonetheless.

A couple hours later we were both in the car on our way to the recruitment building. My mom had to go run errands, so she was going to drop me off along the way. I had been planning on wearing my old army uniform, but after spending nearly half an hour destroying the house while looking, I had given up and just decided to try and look respectable.

My mom pulled up out front of the large building and a growing sense of anxiety filled me. I knew that I would be facing a rough interrogation on my imprisonment and I had tried to mentally prepare myself for it. They would never call it an interrogation of course, but it would be the same whatever they called it. I just had to make it through the next few hours without breaking down again.

"Thanks for the ride," I said as I got out of the car.

"Wait," my mom replied, digging through her purse before pulling out an old flip phone. "Take this," she said, handing it to me through the open window. I turned the phone over in my hand and realized it was my old phone. "My cell number's in there, so you can call me when you're done and I'll pick you up."

"okay, thanks," I called as she slowly pulled away. I took a deep breath and walked into the building. "I'm here to see Colonel Russo," I told the receptionist.

"Of course," the young women behind the front desk said. She led me through a winding corridor before arriving at what I assumed what Colonel Russo's office. The young women knocked on the door and when we heard confirmation to enter, she opened the door for me. I nodded my thanks and entered the big office, my anxiety growing when I saw three officers in the room in addition to Colonel Russo. I saluted and they saluted back.

"At ease soldier," the woman standing to the right of Colonel Russo said and I relaxed. She was tall and lean with black hair tied back in a right bun. She seemsd to be the youngest of the three other people, since the two men had visible signs of aging. One was shorter with close cropped gray hair and the other was much taller with black, gray-flecked hair.

"Lieutenant White," Colonel Russo said. "This is Captain Rodriguez." He pointed to the woman on his right. "Major Graham and General Bowman." He pointed to each man in turn and I shook all of their hands. "They were in charge of the investigation surrounding your capture."

"Let's get started, shall we," Captain Rodriguez said and we all took a seat around a rectangular table. "Now Lieutenant White, Colonel Russo has filled us in on the circumstances surrounding your capture, but we don't really know anything about the circumstances surrounding your rescue." I tensed, but no one seemed to noticed. "So tell us, do you remember what you were doing before the bomb went off and you were caught in the explosion." Vivid memories came forward of me fleeing the League of Assassins' fortress with Kamaria. I gripped the chair cushion under the table and shook my head.

"I don't remember anything," I lied, keeping my face neutral. "I don't really remember much from when I was captured."

"OK," General Bowman responded. "What's the most recent memory you have of when you were captured." I paused for a moment, pretending to think, but actually using to try and compose myself.

"Uh, my most recent memory was probably when I, uh, tried to escape," I said, wincing slightly as I remembered the horrors that unfolded that night.

"And when was this?" General Bowman pressed.

"Uh..." I hesitated. "Roughly five months after I was captured."

"That's your most recent memory?" Captain Rodriguez cried, but she was cut off by Major Graham.

"Tell us what happened, everything." So I did.

XXXFLASHBACKXXX

It took almost three weeks for Raya, which I learned was the guard's name, to prepare everything for our escape. The plan was for her to sneak me into the back of a truck that she would then drive to a nearby dump. A second truck would be waiting for us at the dump which we would take to the nearest city. Raya then had a way to get us both out of the country from the city. Originally, I had been surprised to learn that Raya wanted to escape too, but after explaining how Jackson treated his guards, especially his female ones, like shit, I understood why she wanted to start over.

Rays herself only visited me once during those three weeks, but every few days a guard would toss an extra chunk of bread into my cell. I was still very weak and undernourished, but the extra food helped me regain a little bit of my strength in preparation for my escape. The one time she did visit me was a couple days before the day we planned to escape. She explained everything while she bandaged my wounds. Jackson had gone away on business and wasn't supposed to return until after we had left, so he wouldn't notice the bandages.

Finally, the day came and just after the sun had set, Raya came to my cell with a cart full of trash bags. She quickly helped me climb into the cart and then piled the trash bags on top of me. I nearly gagged at the smell, but did my best to stay silent as we made our way out of the building. It must be fairly big and heavily guarded since it took us much longer to get to the truck than I had expected and we stopped every couple of minutes, during which I faintly heard Raya speaking and the click of machinery.

Eventually I felt the cart go down a slight incline and I noticed the surface under the wheels was different; we had made it outside. I smiled despite myself. It had been half a year since I had last felt fresh air and I was almost free. I felt the cart go up a ramp, into the back of a truck and then tip over. While I scrambled out of the cart and his myself among the many trash bags, Raya made a big deal about 'accidentally' tipping the cart over. A moment later the back on the truck shut and it jolted forward.

I let loose a sigh of relief, finally taking the time to breath in the crisp outdoor air. Even though I was covered my trash bags, I could see the navy blue sky above me. I silently laughed, I was almost free, all I had to do now was make it to the city and then out of the country. The hardest part was over. I thought that nothing could ruin this for me, but of course I spoke too soon. Just as I thought that, I heard warning bells go off in the distance.

"Shit!" Raya cursed loudly from the driver's seat and I felt the car accelerate. A part of my hoped that we would still make it to the dump and then the city before they caught up with us, but that was crushed when I heard the roar of vehicles approaching the truck. Gunshots rang out in the air and I flinched, trying to hide deeper in the trash bags.

The truck swerved left and right as Raya tried to avoid the oncoming vehicles. I heard a loud bang and suddenly I was launched into the air. It all happened so fast that I didn't have time to scream before I landed in a dazed heap on the ground. It took me a moment to realized that another car had crashed into the truck. I tried stand and run, but my legs gave out after a couple steps.

"Now who do we have here." I heard a deep voice speak from behind me. I turned to see Jackson standing over me surrounded by a bunch of armed guards, all with their guns trained on me. "Trying to escape are we? Such a naughty girl. I'll just have to show what happens when someone trys to escape. Bring her here!" Jackson barked and Raya's limp and bloody body was dragged forward by two guards. They threw her to the ground a couple feet from me and a quiet groan escaped her lips. I glanced between Raya and Jackson with wide eyes, terrified of what he would do to her.

"Don't!" I screeched as he pulled out a shotgun and pointed it at Raya's head. She was only starting to regain consciousness and looked at the gun with a distant and confused expression on her face.

"Hold her," Jackson said and I felt a guard grab me. I struggled against his grip, but it was useless. "This is what happens to traitors," Jackson said coldly, clicking the gun's safety off. Raya's eyes widened slightly in fear, but she made no effort to stop him as he shot her. I screamed and struggled against the guard's hold on me, but he help me tight. Tears rushed down my face and I begged him to stop, but the gun went off again and again. Jackson kept shooting her body long after she was dead. He didn't stop until he was out of bullets and then he casually tossed the empty gun on her mangaled body.

I barely paid attention to what happened next. I was vaguely aware of being taken back and thrown in a different cell, but I was numb. All I could think about was Raya's broken body laying there. She probably wouldn't get any sort of burial. Her body would just lie there until the vultures ate it. And it was all my fault. She had died trying to help me escape. It was my fault that she was dead. It was all my fault.

XXXEND FLASHBACKXXX

By the time I had finished my story my knuckles had turned white from gripping my chair. I slowly unclenched my trembling fingers and placed them in my lap. I glanced up and saw that everyone in the room had an expression of disbelief and horror upon their face.

"Wow," Captain Rodriguez breathed, breaking the silence. "That must've been awful." I nodded mutely. "And uh, you don't remember anything after that?"

"Yeah," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. "The rest is just bits and pieces."

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence which was interrupted by the ringing of my cell phone. My face flushed and I fumbled around trying to find the phone and turn it off.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I—I thought it was turned off."

"No, its fine," said Colonel Russo. "Why don't we all take a short break?" His suggestion was met with the nodding of heads, so I gave a grateful nod and fled the room. I found an empty conference room a few doors down and I sat on the ground with my back against the door. I took a few deep breaths, trying to steady myself before worrying about the phone.

After a minute or so I had composed myself enough to grab the phone with my still trembling fingers. I quickly looked up the number that had called me, but I didn't recognize it. I had a short mental debate and decided to try calling the number back.

"Hello?" I asked when I heard someone pick up.

"Ivy?" I recognized Felicity's voice almost instantly.

"Felicity? How did you get this number?"

"Its a long story, but I managed to find it by going through your parents' records at Queen Consolidated. Huh...," she said, pausing as she realized something. "I guess it wasn't that long of a story." Normally I would find her babbling innocent and cute, but today I just couldn't deal with it.

"Is there a reason why you called?" I tried, but failed to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"Yeah," Felicity responded, a bit taken aback. "Oliver says you need to get down here asap. Its about the whole Helena situation." I sighed and rubbed my hand over my face. "Is everything okay?" I hesistated a second before responding.

"No," I said truthfully. "I'm not okay. I'm currently being questioned by various army officials about my 'time away.'" I heard a small gasp on the other end of the line and I shut my eyes, trying to keep my composure. "But I'll be there as soon as I can," I said, not giving her a chance to respond. I quickly ended the call and made my way back to Colonel Russo's office.

"Sorry about that," I said quietly as I sat back down. Major Graham just waved his and, dismissing the interruption. Any tension or discomfort that had been in the room before the break seemed to have disappeared and they didn't waste another second.

"Now Lieutenant White, by any chance do you recognize these?" General Bowman pulled out a big ziplock bag that contained clothing. Even folded and in tatters I would recognize it anywhere; it was my Dragon Warrior armor.

"No," I said, faking confusion. "What're those" He ignored my question and pulled out a case. I almost let out a gasp and the neutral expression on my face dropped for a split second when he opened it. Inside were my twin swords, both clean and polished. I had assumed they had been lost in the rubble.

"You recognize them?" Captain Rodriguez said, excitement in her voice.

"No," I said a bit too quickly, but none of them seemed to notice. "But they're beautiful." Captain Rodriguez sighed, all excitement draining out of her.

"These," she said gesturing to my armor, "are what you were wearing when you were found. They appear to be a sort of armor. And these—" she gestured to my twin swords "— were found in close proximity to you. It looked like you had been fighting with them prior to the explosion." I shoved down the memories struggling to break through and tried to focus on her words.

"That's crazy," I said. "I don't know how to fight with swords." I gave small laugh, pretending to find then idea ridiculous, but no one smiled.

"Lieutenant, are you aware that in this case lying is a federal offense?" Captain Rodriguez said, deadly serious. My blood turned cold. Could they tell I was lying? Shit, shit, shit.

"Of course," I replied, forcing my face to remain neutral. I mentally cursed myself. Somewhere along the way I must've slipped up and given them a hint that I was lying.

"Okay then," she said.

The three officers continues to ask me more questions and I did my best to keep my answers vague and short until eventually, they were done.

"Thank you for your time Lieutenant White," Major Graham said, standing up alon with his colleagues. "We will contact you if we have anymore questions." I nodded, standing up as well. "Now I believe Colonel Russo has some paperwork he needs you complete. Have a good day," he said and the three officers left the room.

As soon as the door shut behind them, I sat down again and tried to control my shaking. I had expected it to be bad, but I hadn't been prepared for this. We sat in silence for a few minutes before Colonel Russo spoke.

"Are you okay?" He asked a bit awkwardly, but not without concern.

"Yeah," I murmured, quickly pulling myself together. "Let's just get this over with." He nodded and pulled out a folder containing several pieces of paper. There was paperwork on things like my discharge terms and my pension and other things I really didn't care about. I only briefly skimmed each paper before signing where I needed to.

Finally, half an hour later, I had finished all the paperwork and was officially discharged from the army. I had just opened the door to leave when I turned back to look at Colonel Russo.

"Thank you, sir," I said gratefully. He had done so much for me and we had be through so much together, I was struck with a sense of nostalgia. "For everything." He glanced up from the paper he was looking at and smiled.

"It was my pleasure."

* * *

A/N: It took me a bit longer than I had planned to finish this chapter, but I'll (hopefully) have another chapter out before the end of summer. Thanks to everyone who had reviewed!


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